Tesla to reveal Model Y tonight: Elon Musk bets big on new electric SUV

Tesla is set to unveil the Model Y on March 14 at the Los Angeles Design Studio. Details concerning the new vehicle are scarce, but Musk says the SUV will be bigger than the company’s latest Model 3 sedan.

Here’s what to expect from the Tesla Model Y SUV.

According Musk himself, the Model Y will be an SUV “about 10% bigger than Model 3.” Since the SUV will be built using a majority of the Model 3’s existing parts, that could make it easier for Tesla to get some production-ready vehicles out the door more quickly. While Musk has said the Model Y will share the Model 3 platform, it is expected to include a slew of differentiating features, including a third row of seats and updated instrument panels.

Tesla recently announced a handful of updates dedicated to increasing charging speeds for all its vehicles, including the reveal of its V3 Supercharger, an updated charging method that Tesla says will “ultimately cut the amount of time customers spend charging by an average of 50%, as modeled on our fleet data.”

 The Model Y will have a slightly shorter range than the Model 3 despite the identical battery.

That means the Model Y could be the second Tesla vehicle to support the V3 Supercharger and its 250 kWh peak charge rate. Tesla says it will accelerate V3 Supercharger installation in “Q2 and Q3.

In a shareholder’s letter from Q4 of 2018, Musk says the company would be gearing up for Model Y production and would reach volume production “by the end of 2020, most likely at Gigafactory 1.”

Tesla recently broke ground on a new Gigafactory in Shanghai, China — one that 

will produce base Model 3 sedans in 2019 and, in 2020, base Model Y SUVs for the country in order to lower prices. “Detailed specs & pricing will be provided,” said Musk on March 3.

USA Today