Tesla Model Y: Elon Musk says that the all-electric compact SUV is “a few years” away

Some speculated that Tesla’s upcoming all-electric crossover/compact SUV called Model Y could follow the Model 3 closely to production in order for Tesla to deliver on its ambitious production goals of 500,000 vehicles in 2018 and 1 million in 2020.

Today, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the Model Y is still “a few years” away.

We almost missed the information since it was shared during Musk’s tweetstorm this morning as he was flying to Cape Canaveral for the upcoming launch of its flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket later this week.

During the thread, he also confirmed that the Tesla Model 3 will not be available with all-wheel-drive dual motors at launch and he released a video of the first Model 3 release candidate drive.

When talking about Tesla’s ‘S3X’ naming scheme for its vehicle lineup, he updated the timeline for the Model Y, which will complete the ‘S3XY’ lineup:

Oh Model Y is coming too in a few years. Kinda have to.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2017

As previously reported, Tesla hasn’t released a ton of information about the Model Y, but Musk said that the vehicle will feature ‘Falcon Wing’ doors like the Model X, which has been controversial among Tesla enthusiasts.

Last year, we asked our readers if they would want Falcon Wings on their Model Y and out of the 5,480 Electrek readers who took the poll, 58% said that they didn’t want the more complexed door system.

Aside from the doors, the vehicle is expected to be very similar to the Model 3 in term of design and feature similar options as the Model 3, like the Model S is similar to the Model X. They are both expected to be built on the same vehicle platform.

Musk said last year that he anticipates demand for the Model Y to land between 500,000 to 1 million units per year.

While the CEO now says that production is still a few years away, we could get to see a prototype relatively soon since Musk said that Tesla planned to unveil the prototypes for its electric pickup truck and semi truck this year and that the Model Y is expected before those two vehicles.

Featured Image: Tesla Model Y unofficial render via Autocar.