Save The Date: Tesla Set To Release Model Y SUV On March 14th

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Back in May 2018, Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased that the company could launch its Model Y SUV crossover on March 15, 2019 because the Ides of March sounded good. Now he has confirmed on Twitter that the EV maker is going to unveil Model Y on March 14th at its Design Studio in Los Angeles. Tesla will reveal specs, pricing and other details at the event. It will be Tesla’s fifth all-electric vehicle.

You’ll get a chance to test ride Model Y SUV on March 14th

The Silicon Valley automaker will offer test rides at the event. It indicates that the company has already finished a few pre-production prototypes. Musk said in another tweet that he was “most excited by the Tesla Truck.” But the truck will be unveiled at another event later this year. The truck might be “too futuristic for most people, but I love it,” wrote Musk.

Chinese media was speculating that Tesla could unveil Model Y SUV at the Shanghai Auto Show in April. During the company’s Q4 earnings call in January, Musk told investors that the company had finalized the design of Model Y. Tesla’s product launches tend to be a big affair where interested customers can put down deposits.

Musk told fans that Model Y would be 10% bigger than Model 3, so it will cost about 10% more. It will also have “slightly less range for same battery,” added Musk. The EV maker has managed to bring down the Model 3 price to $35,000, but adding options such as Autopilot and a long-range battery could set you back by approximately $60,000. The Model Y SUV is expected to start at around $40,000. It will still be cheaper than competing products such as BMW X3 ($41,000) and Mercedes-Benz GLC ($40,700).

Tesla introduced Model S – its first hit product –  in 2012. Based on the same platform, it launched the Model X SUV in 2015. The Model X had some cool features such as the falcon-wing doors, but the falcon-wing door was plagued with problems at launch. The falcon-wing doors are not going to be added to the Model Y SUV to keep its costs down. It will have “normal” doors and it will be far more affordable than Model X.

Tesla has confirmed earlier that Model Y would be based on the same platform as Model 3. But thanks to its larger body, it will have a roomy interior. The upcoming vehicle will share about 75% of its components with Model 3, which helped Tesla speed up its development and reduce the R&D costs. Elon Musk expects demand for Model Y to be 50% higher than the Model 3, which itself is a huge blockbuster.

The Model Y SUV is expected to enter mass production in 2020. The company would manufacture the vehicle at its Gigafactory in Nevada. Tesla also plans to make the Model Y at its upcoming Gigafactory in Shanghai, China to meet the local demand and export to neighboring countries. The existing Fremont facility is running to full capacity to meet the consumer demand for Model 3, Model S, and Model X vehicles.

Third version of Supercharger to go live later this week

Tesla announced recently that it has managed to bring down the Model 3 price to the promised $35,000 more than a year after it entered production. However, the company had to shut down most of its showrooms around the world and switch to an online-only sales model to bring down the price. Tesla also had to lay off an undisclosed number of employees. Musk said these steps were necessary for the company to remain “financially viable.”

Separately, Musk revealed that the third version of the Supercharging charging stations will go live later this week. The first of them will go live on Wednesday, March 6th, but Musk didn’t share its location. The third version of Supercharger will be able to charge vehicles at 350kW or higher. That’s much higher than the current Supercharger’s 145kW.

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