There are two major takeaways during the annual Tesla shareholder meeting: one, more tidbits about the Model Y
crossover that’s to come in 2019; and two, there’s a compact hatchback in the coming future.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the Model Y, even amid production problems with the Model X, will be revealed sometime in March 2019 and it would have “something super special” once it arrives in dealerships in 2020. He also said jokingly that the crossover would be free entirely from leather, “even in the steering wheel… if it does have a steering wheel.” Yes, just imagine that. A revolutionary crossover that runs on batteries and has no steering wheel (possibly meaning autonomous driving).
The Model Y is the newest plan in Tesla’s lineup of vehicles. It will complement the Model X and it is expected to compete against the likes of BMW iX3 and other electric vehicles that will be present in the market by that time.
The plan is for the Model Y to become more important and sellable than the Model 3, seeing as crossovers and SUVs are the most popular vehicles in the market today. The Model 3, if you can remember, received 450,000 reservations and if Tesla would soon solve the production problem, the Model Y could see this number rise. In short, the Model Y is poised to become the company’s best-selling model.
Based on the information we now have, the Model Y will have a smaller battery pack than the Model X, which will make it infinitely lighter. The base unit could be packing a 60 kWh battery and the top-of-the-line unit could have a 90 kWh battery. These options would give buyers plenty of choices without necessarily overlapping with the features of the Model X.
The base model could go as high as $45,000, but that could still change depending on how other electric crossovers price their models.
On the other hand, Mr. Musk also got people talking about his tiny revelation that there could be a compact car in Tesla’s future. It would be launched a little further down the road, possible in 2023. Of course, it makes sense for Tesla to target another popular segment in the auto industry—the compact hatchback.
