During the conference call for Tesla’s third quarter financial results, we got a rare update about the Model Y, Tesla’s upcoming all-electric crossover.
CEO Elon Musk said that he approved the Model Y prototype for production, which is targeted for 2020.
Over the last year, Musk has been talking about how the automaker plans to shift its focus from the Model 3 to the Model Y once they have ironed out all the issues in the production ramp of the former.
That day is about to come and Musk said that they recently made some progress with the Model Y.
The CEO said that he recently approved the final prototype for production.
Musk is giving the greenlight for production even before the unveiling of the vehicle, which is planned for March 2019.
When Tesla unveiled the Model 3 in March 2016, it was still an early alpha prototype and the vehicle went through a few iterations before going into production.
With the Model Y prototype already being approved for production, we should be able to see something a lot closer to a finalized production unit at the unveiling next year.
That said, production is still planned for 2020.
Earlier this week, we published a report on everything we know about Tesla’s Model Y.
It is expected to be a crossover version of the Model 3 with similar range and capabilities, but in a higher vehicle with a hatch.
One of the biggest unknowns remains where it will be produced. We learned earlier today that Tesla is planning to produce it at Gigafactory 3 in China, but the output at the factory will be for the Chinese market.
For other markets, like the US, it’s currently unclear where the vehicle will be produced, but a new factory becomes less likely since the vehicle is now reportedly less than two years away.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments