Did BOXABL Really Just Announce a $20k PREFAB HOME!? (Baby Box)
People have been up in my comments asking for an update on Boxabl, and even though it’s been a minute since I made a blog post about the Las Vegas-based company, it appears as though they’ve been making moves.
If anyone watching missed their rise to popularity, the year was 2020, and they quickly went viral as people saw them as a possible solution to combat rising home prices. It really was quite fascinating to watch. I had never seen a company get so popular so fast, and I haven’t seen anyone do it the same way since.
The Rise of Boxabl
Early Popularity
Looking back, I think it was a combination of preparation that nobody saw. This was not a 2020 idea, and contrary to popular belief, they were not an overnight success. Combined with good timing, great marketing, and maybe a bit of luck, Boxabl became a household name. Fast forward to 2024, and things have been quieter over at Boxabl.
Shift in Focus
When I say quieter, what I mean is they seem to have throttled back the viral marketing stunts like drag racing with Casitas, dropping cars on Casitas, and other unconventional big attention plays. It seems to me the focus has been redirected from getting attention to building homes, which makes sense—they are a home-building company after all.
Boxabl’s New Direction
Building Homes
Will I miss the stunts? Yeah, I will. They were quite entertaining, but I just don’t know if they can get away with it anymore now that they’re a larger company. They’ve got investors, they’ve got customers, and people will be wondering why they’re running around in a Casita rather than building homes.
New Announcements
It seems the focus shift has been beneficial because they’ve announced a couple of new ideas that move them closer to their goal of mass-producing homes. Whether you’re on the waitlist, a fan of Boxabl, a hater, or just a prefab enthusiast, let’s see what they’ve been up to because, again, it is a fascinating storyline.
What is Boxabl?
The Boxabl Casita
It occurred to me that some of the new users on the blog may not have heard of Boxabl, so let me back up the truck real quick. Boxabl is best known for the Boxabl Casita, a 361 sq ft home that ships 8 ft wide and folds out on site. It’s described as designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind and comes standard with a full kitchen and bathroom, as well as plenty of living space, which is perfect for a couch and bed or whatever you envision.
Pricing and Popularity
When I first started following the company, the Casita was listed at $50,000, but it’s currently showing a base price of $60,000. It has been reported by Boxabl that they’ve got a waitlist north of 100,000 people just to give you an idea of how popular they’ve become in the last 3 or 4 years.
Recent Developments
Real Homes in Real Locations
I’ve been watching and waiting to see more Casitas get delivered because people want to see real homes being delivered to real locations—simple as that. People want to see them in the wild, real use cases, real Casitas, real properties, real everything. Believe it or not, there was a time when some people—maybe it was one or two, I don’t know—thought that the factory was full of paid actors pretending to work. There was no shortage of theories around why very few homes were shown being delivered.
Recent Deliveries
That was then; this is now. With their recent delivery of six Boxabl Casitas to one property in Oklahoma City that will be used to provide affordable housing options in the area, this is as good a time as any to get into what they’ve been doing.
Dealer Network Strategy
Creating a Network
First things first, it looks like they’re creating a network of licensed dealers to sell their homes. A page out of the playbook of companies that sell more homes than any others in America—think Clayton Homes, think Champion Homes, or any of the other big players in the space. According to their website, Clayton Homebuilding Group built 52,000 homes across the United States in 2023. Think about that number for a second—that’s 142 homes per day.
Efficiency and Scalability
I’m not sure how Boxabl plans to set up their dealer program, but traditionally how this works is the manufacturer has a wholesale price list that goes out to their dealers that doesn’t include site services, delivery, or setup. The dealers can get the homes for a lower price than is listed to the public because they’re going to do a lot of the work that Boxabl then doesn’t have to do. One of the reasons that Clayton Homes is able to build 52,000 homes in a single year is because they have their network of dealers who are looking after 52,000 job sites, 52,000 building permits, and talking to the 52,000 customers that are buying the homes.
Dealer Responsibilities
When I was working at a dealership selling manufactured homes, my job was to sell the homes, and there is more to it than most people think. Unfortunately, it is not like buying or selling a car. Not everyone who wants to buy a home is able to do so, even if they have the money. For example, before a sale can be made, we would do a site visit to make sure it’s even possible to get a home on the property. Add that to the list of things that Clayton Homes would have to do if they wanted to sell directly to 52,000 customers—52,000 site visits. It isn’t scalable for Boxabl.
The Baby Box Announcement
New Model Speculation
The co-founder, Paolo, recently posted on X that they’re working on a smaller model that wouldn’t require a lot of the items that slow down the process of getting Boxabl to customers. The post says, “Baby Box is coming. No permits, no foundations, no tools, no nothing. Free delivery nationwide. 20-something thousand price and Boxabl financing.” That’s the plan anyways. Let’s see how it goes.
Potential Features
At the starter end of the spectrum, this is how we do it at mass freaking quantities. I think this is something that anyone could take delivery of and would be possible to go directly from the website to the consumer because it’s going to show up finished. Again, this is just speculation, but I think it’ll be around 100 square feet, maybe just under, so 8 ft wide by 12 1/2 ft long so it can ship without a wide load. But I don’t think it’s going to unfold on site at all. I think it’ll remain the same dimensions that it’s transported—so around 1/3 the size of the Casita and no setup.
Design and Layout
The post didn’t include a floor plan, but based on the rendering shown, I was able to whip up this educated guess in Kid Pix. From what I can tell, it’ll have a coat closet by the entrance, then a kitchenette before it opens up into the main section of the home. In the main section, there’s a foldout couch, a table for two, and likely a window on the end wall. Looping around to the other side of the home, they’ve got a bathroom, which appears to have a walk-in shower, a sink, and I’m guessing it’ll have a toilet.
Utility Concerns
The post says it’ll have no permits, no foundation, no tools, no nothing, so I am wondering what the plan is for power, water, and sewer.
Conclusion
Boxabl continues to innovate and adapt, moving from viral marketing stunts to focusing on scalable home production. Their new dealer network strategy and the announcement of the Baby Box model show promise in making affordable, prefab homes more accessible to the masses. Whether you’re a fan, a skeptic, or just curious, Boxabl’s journey is one to watch.
