When Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, set out for the first time to realize his dream of making electric cars not only great, but also profitable, the car world seemed to let out a collective laugh.
Update : Elon Musk has confirmed that the Y Model will go into production in 2020, which is later than originally expected.
13 years later and Tesla is one of the coolest car manufacturers on the planet, and with a recent report of taking £ 2.79 billion in revenue, clearly it's not doing so badly with sales either.
Now that Model 3 has officially arrived on the roads, we look forward to the next car Tesla is working on. . The Model Y is the new compact SUV from Tesla, and completes the running joke in the Elon Musk naming scheme, with the Model S, Model X and the recent Model 3.
Originally, Model 3 would be called E , so a perfect fit, but due to a legal clash with Ford over the use of the letter E, Tesla left with its visual numerical equivalent.
To be fair, the fact that the Y comes makes us a little more comfortable with the joke; He is still young, but at least one car manufacturer has not only applied the word sex in his range.
Although to be fair, it does mean you can make jokes like this:
S, 3, X on a bridge pic.twitter.com/2E57xqkTVYJuly 29, 2017
Not much is known about Model Y at this time, but everything we know that we have included below will keep you updated with developments as we listen to them.
Cut to the hunt
- What is it? The compact SUV of the electric car giant Tesla
- What is the range? Currently unknown
- How can I book one? Still can not
- When does it come out? 2020
- How much will it cost? Currently unknown, probably less than X
- How fast is it? Currently unknown
Tesla Model Y: What is it?
The Y model will be the first compact SUV offer from the electric car manufacturer. It makes sense as a move for Tesla, considering the success of other compact SUVs like the Toyota RAV4 and the Ford Escape in the US market. Musk is obviously aware of the market value of compact SUVs, referring to the "largest segment of products in the world".
According to a Musk tweet, the Model Y will be built with the Model 3 chassis. This is interesting since Tesla already has an SUV (Model X), so the fact that it is built from the chassis of 3 potentially means that it points to a similar customer base.
Tesla model 3 is beautiful on a budget
Model 3 was a deviation from the usual modus operandi; starting at $ 35,000 (£ 30,000, approximately AU $ 45,700) it was the first car to sit in a price range that was friendlier to the "general consumer".
According to Elon Musk's tweet confirming that the Y will be built from 3, he also confirmed that the & # 39; Spacebus & # 39; was going to build from the X. This will definitely be a minibus, but considering the other project of Musk SpaceX, the appointment has led people to speculate jokingly that it would be for driving off the ground.
Model Y (compact SUV) outside the Model 3 chassis. Tesla Bus / Minibus / Spacebus outside the X model. July 31, 2016
The information about the model Y is still quite thin in the ground, since it is in the early stages of its development.
We know what it will look like … well, we have had a very vague vision of how it will look thanks to the image shared by Musk.
Tesla Model Y: Release date
Originally Musk had claimed that Model Y was to be manufactured in a completely independent way from Model 3, and that it should be delivered by 2019/2020.
However, in a profit report, Musk changed his position and said: "The Model Y will use a considerable remnant of Model 3, which means it will hit the market much faster."
Unfortunately, that's not going to be the case. It happens, as in a recent conference call in May 2018, Musk confirmed that the Model Y would not go into production until the beginning of 2020.
Tesla Model Y: What we would like to see
At the moment it seems that the Model Y will follow the steps of Model X in the sense that it will have the & # 39; doors Falcon & # 39; that will open instead of leaving. While this is a feature that definitely has an impact, we're not sure it's something we really need.
Model X with his & # 39; wings & # 39;
As with all electric cars that reach the market at this time, one of the main characteristics that really bother us is the range between the load. While the infrastructure to support the charging of electric vehicles is improving, it is still not in a place where we feel 100% sure that the change to a fully electric vehicle would not negatively affect our driving patterns.
Since the Model 3 has an initial range of approximately 215, there is a possibility that the Y is similar, but our concern is that the larger car could have a negative impact on the range.
Ideally we would like to see the towing capacity we saw in the Model X move to the Model Y. When it was introduced, it was the first electric car to offer this feature, and to be honest, if the electric car will really replace the vehicle's combustion engine, you will need to be able to handle the heavy work that your fossil fuel counterparts are currently able to do.
In addition to that are the characteristics that we have come to know and love about Tesla, such as its absurd way that increases the acceleration (as you would imagine) ridiculous levels.
As we learn more about the Model Y, we will update this piece, so check back here to find out the latest.
- Would you like to know more about the latest Tesla offer from Model 3? See: Tesla Model 3 release date, news and features