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After nearly four years of preparation, Tesla will finally unveil the Model Y compact SUV tonight at an event in Los Angeles. Although we have not yet seen the full picture of the new electric car, Tesla and his CEO, Elon Musk, have spent the last few years, months, and days leading up to the unveiling to chart a plan worthy of 'expect.
In general, the Y model will be a crucial car for Tesla, which represents a huge potential for the company. In simple terms, SUVs are selling like hotcakes these days. According to JD Power, they currently account for about 49% of the US new car market and more than half of the customers who bought a vehicle last year in the $ 30,000 to $ 50,000 price range bought an SUV.
In other words, you can build an SUV with Lego and sell it at five digits in the United States. So, hopefully, the demand for a car like the Y model should to be strong.
We do not know exactly what is planned for tonight (and Tesla and Musk seem to like surprises), but here are our best guesses.
The specs
The Y model will share about 75% of the model 3 components. So we can expect it to deliver similar overall performance, style, and cost. We do not yet have specific details on the Y model, but Musk has made rough estimates. on Twitter 11 days ago. He said the Y model will be about 10% bigger than a 3 model, will cost about 10% more, and will have "a little less scope for [the] same battery. "
This means that the Y model should start at around 38,500 USD and reach around 63,800 USD (before options such as autopilot). Of course, it is likely that Tesla will start by manufacturing and selling the most expensive versions of the Y model when it goes into production in 2020 because they will have the highest margins. One thing to look for tonight is whether Musk offers a schedule for the basic version of Model Y.
If the Y model has "a little less autonomy" with the same battery, it means that the basic version (which we will probably call the "standard model Y") will offer a little less than 220 km in full charge. The most expensive Y models will be able to travel about 300 miles.
Design
Try changing the latest shady teaser image published by Tesla for the Model Y to get an overview of its appearance. I dare you. All you are really going to get is a slightly faded image with a hidden message: "Good try. "
That said, the difference between the new teaser image and the one Tesla distributed a few years ago is significant. The new image really shows the shape of the Y model in a different way than the old image. It's never easy to get an idea of what a car will look like until you see it completely (which is true), but the latest teaser from Tesla actually gives the impression that the Y model will look like a larger model 3, at a higher angle. it will certainly not be a car as big or as cumbersome as the Model X.
The long way to get here
Musk initially criticized Model Y in a tweet of October 2015, which he almost immediately deleted. Since then, the SUV crossover project has undergone many changes in scope. While it was originally thought that Tesla would build Model Y on the same technological basis as Model 3, Musk said in May 2017 that Tesla wanted instead to build the Y model on a "completely different" platform. He said at the time that the company could simplify the production process and significantly reduce the length of electrical wiring needed if it abandoned the 12-volt battery architecture used in other Tesla vehicles. He would also have the Falcon Wing doors of the X model.
But all this was said at a time when Musk was still quite excited about the automation of much of the production process. It has changed. Musk now says Tesla relies too much on automation, which is one of the reasons why it took more time for the company than it planned to run Model 3 production at a steady pace. . Musk finally turned around on the Y model, telling investors that in August 2017, he would share a platform with Model 3 after all.
"On the advice of my management team, to get me back from the cliffs of madness, the Y model will actually use a substantial postponement of Model 3 in order to market it more quickly," Musk said during the call. . It's still the plan since, although Musk admitted this month that the Y model now habit have the Falcon Wing X model doors.
Knowing that the car has been in development for so long, it is worth wondering if Tesla has come up with other ways to distinguish Model Y from Model 3. Will the interior be there? exactly the same? Or will Tesla mix things up by adding some extra physical buttons, a head-up display or something totally different? One thing is certain: expect the Model Y's dashboard to be dominated by a large touch screen.
What we do not know
Where to start? On the one hand, Tesla and Musk have not fully engaged in the construction of the Y model. The company's manufacturing facility in Fremont, Calif., Is so packed that Tesla had to pitch a tent for to be able to build model 3 at the scale of last year. Musk said that it was "likely" that the Y model would be built in the company's Gigafactory plant in Reno, Nevada, and that car versions destined for China would probably be manufactured as well. in the factory under construction in Shanghai.
It is possible that the Y model has a third row of seats, although it is not a lock, because the rumor is based on internal documents that a Tesla spokesperson would have described as "outdated".
Although Musk said that the Y model would come into production in 2020, the company's schedule for the new car is not entirely clear. Tesla and Musk are known for their lack of deadlines, but any concrete date announced tonight would help fans, followers and Wall Street gauge the expectations of Model Y for the coming months.
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