Tesla’s automotive business is expanding quickly and we are not only talking about the Model 3. The Model 3 program will significantly increase its overall production capacity from roughly 2,000 vehicles per week to ~7,000 vehicles per week by the end of the year if all goes well, but Tesla is also expanding its automotive offering with now 8 vehicle programs at different stages of development.
CEO Elon Musk’s update yesterday gives us a better idea – albeit still vague – of the timeline for those programs.
Here are the 8 vehicle programs:
- Tesla Model S
- Tesla Model X
- Tesla Model 3
- Tesla Model Y
- Tesla Roadster next-gen (placeholder name)
- Tesla Minibus (placeholder name)
- Tesla Pickup truck (placeholder name)
- Tesla Semi
Most people know about the Model S and X, which are both currently in production and are expected to keep their positions as Tesla’s flagship luxury sedan and SUV for the foreseeable future.
Of course, the Model 3 is also well-known and while it’s not in production yet, it should be in the next few months as long as there are no delays.
After the Model 3, the timeline to production for Tesla’s other vehicle programs becomes less clear.
Musk said in the past that the Model Y, a small SUV based on the same platform as the Model 3, will be Tesla’s priority once the company gets a handle on the Model 3 production ramp up.
But we have yet to hear anything about a planned reveal of a Model Y prototype and instead, Musk confirmed yesterday a planned unveiling of Tesla Semi, the company’s upcoming all-electric semi truck, for September.
Does it mean that Tesla Semi is further along the development process than the Model Y or Tesla is only keeping its cards close to its chest when it comes to the compact SUV? It’s hard to say at this point.
Musk also made rare and welcomed references to the next generation Roadster recently after the upcoming vehicle was surprisingly left out of Musk’s product plan last year. He confirmed that the vehicle is still planned, but “a few years away” and yesterday he added that it will be a convertible.
Tesla next-gen Roadster: unofficial render tries to envision Tesla’s next top-of-the-line model
Furthermore, Musk clarified that the “Tesla Pickup truck” is only going to be revealed “18 to 24 months” from now. Considering the current popularity of pickup trucks, we would have thought that it would have been further up Tesla’s list of priorities, but apparently, we are not likely to see it before 2019, which means that production before 2020 is unlikely.
The last vehicle is what we have been referring to as the “Tesla Minibus”, a microbus built on the Model X chassis. Musk said that the bus is inspired by the “California Custom VW combi design art”. Jalopnik came up with the rendering seen below to help visualize what it could look like:
Since Tesla plans to build the vehicle on the Model X chassis, it could be further along the development process than most other vehicles, but it doesn’t have a clear unveiling timeline like Tesla Semi.
Based on the information we have so far, here are my best guesstimates (emphasize that these are guesses) for the production timelines for each upcoming model:
- Tesla Model Y – late 2018
- Tesla Roadster next-gen – 2019
- Tesla Minibus – 2019
- Tesla Pickup truck – 2020
- Tesla Semi – low-volume late 2018
Let us know your own best guesstimate in the comment section below.
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