Tesla Model Y Headed for March 14th Unveiling

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Hoping to start this week in better form than last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter Sunday to generate buzz ahead of the Model Y’s debut. The upcoming crossover, based on the Model 3 sedan, will see the light of day on March 14th at the company’s L.A. design studio, Musk said.

As for when customers can expect to see one, that’s a matter for the bookies.

Detailed technical specs and pricing should be forthcoming on March 14th, though Musk did say, “Model Y, being an SUV, is about 10% bigger than Model 3, so will cost about 10% more & have slightly less range for same battery.”

Should one assume those stats are based on the standard range, $35,000 Model 3 released last week? That stripped-down sedan goes 220 miles between charges. If this is the true starting point, the base Model Y’s range should just barely top the 200-mile mark while retailing for a tick under 40 grand after destination.

However, as we saw with the Model 3, it’s not a sure thing that the entry-level Model Y will be made available to customers from the outset. Model 3 Standard Range customers were left twiddling their thumbs for two years as buyers snapped up the pricier versions needed to fund Tesla’s operation.

In follow-up tweets, Musk said the Model Y won’t opt for gimmicky (and failure-prone) falcon wing doors like those seen on the Model X SUV. It would seem this crossover is garage safe.

While the Model Y is slowly becoming less of a ghost, production timing — and location — remains something of a question mark. Last year saw several best guesses, with Musk going from saying a November 2019 start date was “possible” to April 2020, then to August of that year. In the automaker’s fourth-quarter 2018 earnings report, Tesla wrote, “Additionally, this year we will start tooling for Model Y to achieve volume production by the end of 2020, most likely at Gigafactory 1.”

Gigafactory 1 is Tesla’s Nevada battery production site. Another such site, meant for both batteries and vehicles, is under construction in Shanghai.

Assuming the earnings report prediction holds, customers should expect their Model Ys starting in early 2021. Of course, a lot could change over the course of this year.

[Image: Tesla]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Mar 04, 2019

    Tesla keeps producing everything they've been lying about.

    • Lockstops Lockstops on Mar 04, 2019

      They're producing the Model Y? In which reality of yours?

  • SuperCarEnthusiast SuperCarEnthusiast on Mar 04, 2019

    I feel this will be my first EV. Tesla Model Y will be sweet because Musk is very big on it! I going to do the $1K down at in line to buy a Model Y with the performance feature, maybe $90K!

  • GregLocock That's a bodge, not a solution. Your diff now has bits of broken off metal floating around in it.
  • The Oracle Well, we’re 3-4 years in with the Telluride and right around the time the long term durability issues start to really take hold. This is sad.
  • CoastieLenn No idea why, but nothing about a 4Runner excites me post-2004. To me, they're peak "try-hard", even above the Wrangler and Gladiator.
  • AZFelix A well earned anniversary.Can they also attend to the Mach-E?
  • Jalop1991 The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged due to suspected improper assembly by the supplier. Over time, partial engagement can cause damage to the intermediate shaft splines. Damaged shaft splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while in Park if the parking brake is not engagedGee, my Chrysler van automatically engages the parking brake when we put it in Park. Do you mean to tell me that the idjits at Kia, and the idjit buyers, couldn't figure out wanting this in THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLE????
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