Tesla Model Y announced
American electric car company confirms new compact SUV coming by 2020Tesla, the world's most recognisable EV-maker, is building another SUV.
The Tesla Model Y will be a new all-electric compact "crossover" or small SUV.
Announced by company CEO Elon Musk during Tesla's 2017 annual shareholder meeting, a single teaser image of the new model was shown.
Unlike regular cars that require fossil fuels, the Tesla Model Y will be plugged into an electrical socket to recharge its battery packs that power its electric motors.
Not a great deal is known about the Tesla Model Y, apart from the fact it'll be on sale by 2020 according to comments made by Musk.
"We are aiming for that to hit the roads in 2019 approximately. And probably the demand for Model Y will exceed the demand for Model 3," he said.
The Model Y EV will be based on a new architecture designed to reduce manufacturing costs, increase energy efficiency and tailor features specific to SUVs... and to avoid mistakes made on the Model X.
"I am really excited about Model Y," said Musk at the annual shareholder meeting.
"There's been some criticism, like we should sort of derive it from the Model 3 platform. But I think actually we made a mistake in trying to derive the Model X from the Model S platform."
The vehicle's range is not yet known but expectations will be that the Model Y should reach at least 600km or around 400 miles per charge.
It will slot in underneath the circa-$200,000 Tesla Model X large SUV and will be significantly more affordable.
Musk also noted that the Model Y will likely be assembled at a new factory, while the Model Y's battery packs will be manufactured at its Gigafactory in the Nevada desert.
The final design of the Model Y, which appears to ditch traditional mirrors in favour of tiny cameras, will likely be shown a couple of years before the car goes on sale to stimulate pre-orders and revenue, as was the case with the Model 3.
As the SUV boom appears to be the norm, rather than a short-term trend, the Tesla Model Y could overtake the Model 3 as the Californian EV company's best-selling model.
The US car-maker already has around 300,000 pre-order deposits for the Tesla Model 3 small sedan, with production to begin in July 2017.
As such, expect digital melt-down when the order books open for the Tesla Model Y.
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