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Last Thursday, Tesla lifted the veil on its much-anticipated Model Y crossover SUV at its California headquarters, according to Popular Science.
The vehicle is already available for pre-order, although the first models won't start shipping until the fall of 2020. The Model Y is Tesla's second crossover after the Model X, showing it's doubling down on a popular car category: The three top-selling vehicles in the US last year were pickup trucks, but the next three were all crossovers.
Though some observers are underwhelmed by a perceived lack of exciting new features, the Model Y SUV's similarities to the Model 3 sedan suggest Tesla has nailed down the design and production process for new vehicles. The new Model Y shares about 75% of its parts with the Model 3, per figures cited by Popular Science.
This indicates that Tesla — which has struggled with production for years, spending significant dollars on vehicle design and establishing processes — has reached a point of stability and can simply fine-tune its vehicle designs for different models. Tesla is seeking to scale production significantly over the next few years to eventually manufacture at least 1 million cars by 2022. Though the Elon Musk-led automaker still has significant work ahead of it — including getting its China plant up and running — the sign that it's ironed out a vehicle design is encouraging.
The Model Y's tiered pricing is structured like some of Tesla's other models, suggesting that Tesla is also closing in on standardizing its pricing strategy. The Model Y is available in four, differently priced versions:
- Two Dual Motor all-wheel drive versions, one called Performance (280-mile range, $60,000), and one called Long Range (280-mile range but slightly slower acceleration; $51,000).
- A rear-wheel drive Long Range version (300-mile range; $47,000)
- A rear-wheel drive Standard Range version (230-mile range; $39,000). Standard Range models will not begin shipping until spring 2021, while the other three models will begin shipping in fall 2020.
The tiered structure has been evident in some Tesla pricing in the past, but the announcement that the Model Y will follow suit shows a new commitment on Tesla’s part to formalizing its pricing approach. This increased clarity will benefit prospective customers in making a purchase decision. For example, if a customer is deciding between a Tesla and an EV model from a more-established automaker, Tesla’s transparent pricing structure would make comparison shopping more straightforward and give them greater confidence in an eventual Tesla purchase.
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