Tesla Model Y: what to expect?

Tesla Model Y is about to come centerstage in the EV world. While the automaker still has some work to do to ramp up production of the Model 3, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla will quickly make the upcoming affordable electric crossover the priority. However this will have to wait until the company’s Model 3 production tribulations are all under control.

At any rate, here is what to expect for Model Y. We’ve also got a few polls for you to answer regarding some of its features…

Tesla Model Y launch date

It’s been about a year since Tesla has held a new launch event, with the most recent being the Tesla Semi launch in November 2017.

The Model Y launch was expected in 2018, but sluggish Model 3 production has forced the automaker to delay the unveiling of the new vehicle.

Musk said that they are aiming to unveil Model Y on March 15, 2019.

Tesla is expected to reveal all the details about the vehicle at that point and open the reservation book with deposit.

Model Y Production

The start of production and the location of the production of Model Y are still unknown.

Musk has been teasing the release of a “production plan” for almost a year now, but that has yet to materialize.

Musk has also been talking about a possible production start date around the end of 2020.

Earlier this year, Tesla started posting jobs for the Model Y program.

There have been rumors that Tesla will build a brand new factory for the Model Y, which Musk said will start ‘a manufacturing revolution’, while others speculate that Tesla will build production lines at Gigafactory 1 for the new vehicle.

Plans for the production of Model Y are expected to come to light before the launch of the vehicle next year.

Model Y Design and Specs

The Model Y design is expected to draw significantly from the Model 3 design but with a full hatch and a crossover form factor – not unlike how the Model X looks a lot like the Model S.

Last summer, Tesla released the first Model Y teaser – pictured left below – and they released a second one earlier this year – right below:

Not many design features can be discerned from those images, but it does indeed seem to take some cues from Model 3 and Model X.

Musk has also previously said that Model Y would have Falcon Wing doors like Model X, but that was so long ago that it’s unclear if it’s still in the plans.

The vehicle is likely to also feature a panoramic windshield like the Model X and some claim that it is visible on the teaser images.

As for the specs, Model Y is expected to have similar performance specs as the Model 3.

Tesla has been talking about making a brand new platform for Model Y with less wiring harness in order to facilitate automating the manufacturing process.

While it sounds like it will be the case, Tesla is still expected to take advantage of some Model 3 parts in order to facilitate Model Y production and improve economies of scale.

Things like battery packs and drive units are expected to be the same, which should result in similar range and performance: 200 to 300 miles of range on a single charge and 3.5 to 5.5 second 0-60 mph acceleration times.

That said, Tesla could introduce battery technology improvements in its entire lineup by the time the Model Y hits the market, which could result in some improvement in overall performance.

Model Y Pricing

The pricing has yet to be confirmed, but Musk has previously been talking about a roughly $5,000 premium over the price of the Model 3, which currently starts at $45,000 before incentives.

Of course, Tesla is still promising a $35,000 version of Model 3, which could mean that Model Y could eventually start as low as $40,000.

Model Y impact on Tesla’s business

Model 3 is currently taking Tesla into the mainstream with already over 100,000 vehicles on the road — something that took years for the automaker to achieve with Model S and Model X.

Model Y is expected to accelerate similar growth for Tesla.

Musk even said that he expects Model Y demand to be even greater than the demand for Model 3. He said that he can see demand for Model Y units between 500,000 to 1 million per year.

But like Model 3, demand is not expected to be an issue, or at least not as big of an issue as production.

The good news is that Tesla admitted many of its mistakes with the Model 3 production ramp-up. Hopefully, it means that they won’t repeat those same errors again with Model Y.

That said, there are still too many unknowns about the vehicle before we can efficiently assess the upcoming vehicle’s impact on Tesla business.

Let us know what you think and if you have any feature request for the Model Y in the comment section below.

if you know anything about Tesla’s Model Y program, you can reach out to me via anonymously wickr: fredev, Twitter: @FredericLambert, or email: fred@9to5mac.com.