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Tesla Model Y: Three Things We Know So Far

By Simon Alvarez
Published on: 15:54 PST, Mar 26, 2017

Tesla might be new to the automotive industry, but the company’s aggressive strategies have managed to propel the EV firm to one of the stop spots in the green car market. With the company’s car for the masses, the Model 3, set to begin mass production this year, the EV maker’s most ardent fans are eagerly anticipating the reveal of the carmaker’s next vehicle, the Tesla Model Y.

Details about the Tesla Model Y are scarce, though it is widely speculated that the upcoming vehicle from the EV maker would be a crossover SUV. According to a Teslarati report, the Model Y would follow the same theme as the Model 3. That is, it would be an electric crossover SUV that is well within the budget of conventional buyers.

Over the past few months, however, little details about the upcoming vehicle have begun to trickle down, with most coming from Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself. Here, then, are three significant facts that Tesla fans could be sure of with regards to the Model Y.

It Will Be Built On The Model 3 Platform

This particular fact has been known for a while. Considering that the Tesla Model 3 is the company’s car for the masses, it would be no surprise to see the carmaker’s next budget vehicle built on the same platform. The Model 3’s platform is quite flexible in a number of ways, especially with regards to equipping various battery sizes.

It Won’t Have Falcon Wing Doors

Contrary to initial rumors about the Model 3, Tesla would not be using the Model X’s Falcon Wing Doors in the Model Y. According to Musk, production delays for the Model Y would be avoided easily by adopting a simpler design for the vehicle. Notably, the Falcon Wing Doors are the primary reason behind the infamous delays in the production of the company’s first SUV, the Model X. In an earnings call on Q1 2016, Musk emphasized that the firm has learned its lesson with the Model X.

“We’re really trying to take a lot of lessons learned from Model X, where Model X, we put a lot of bells and whistles on Model X and a lot of advanced technologies that weren’t necessary for version one of the vehicle. And with Model 3 we’re being incredibly rigorous about ensuring that we don’t have anything that isn’t really necessary to make a very compelling version one of the car. We also have a much tighter feedback loop between design engineering, manufacturing engineering, and production.”

It Will Come After Model 3 Production Stabilizes

A recent report from The Drive has stated that the Model Y would be officially unveiled as soon as the Model 3’s mass production stabilizes. The arrival of the Model 3 heralds a significant change in pace for the EV maker, considering that expectations for the compact sedan’s demand are extremely high. According to Tesla, once the company is well-familiarized with producing 500,000 EVs per year, the Model Y could finally be unveiled. Musk, for his part, confirmed this during a Q2 earnings call.

“I mean, also to be clear like the priority vehicle development after the Model 3 would be the Model Y, I guess, the compact SUV, because that’s also a car that where we expect to see demand in the 500,000 to 1,000,000 unit per year level. So it’s the obvious priority after the Model 3.”

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas noted that the arrival of the Model Y would most likely compound the sales of the EV maker, considering that by the time the crossover gets launched, Tesla would already be familiar with large-scale vehicle production.

“We believe the small SUV segment will eventually be the largest segment in the world across all OEMs. We also expect Model Y to be at the center of an on-demand ride sharing service (‘Tesla Mobility’) due to its larger passenger compartment, luggage space, and modular seat configuration.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsbiibfv_LQ

[Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

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