During Tesla’s Q2 results and Q&A call, CEO Elon Musk made mention of the Model Y ‘compact SUV’ which he envisions as the natural successor and “the obvious priority after the Model 3”. The billionaire serial entrepreneur envisions demand for the Model Y to be between 500k to 1 million vehicles per year.
The reveal comes just days after Musk took to Twitter to confirm that the Model Y will be a compact SUV based on the Model 3 chassis. Though plans for an electric compact SUV concept were revealed in 2012 when the company gave a slide presentation to investors, this is the first time we’re hearing Tesla confirm on the Model Y name.
@RoadandTrack @TeslaMotors Model Y (compact SUV) off Model 3 chassis. Tesla Bus/Minibus/Spacebus off Model X.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 31, 2016
The Model Y name would complete the tongue-in-cheek naming scheme Musk envisioned. With a fleet of vehicles named Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y, Tesla would bring SEXY back once the entire fleet of ‘Model’ cars were complete.
Musk did not provide a timeline on when the Model Y would go into production, but he did go on to say during the Q&A section of today’s Q2 call that a Tesla compact SUV would succeed Model 3 and see demand on par with Tesla’s upcoming highly anticipated mass-market vehicle. “That’s [Model Y] also a car where we expect to see demand in the 500k to 1 million unit per year level”, says Musk during the call.
Having a compact SUV is inline with the Tesla CEO’s vision of expanding the company’s footprint into new vehicle segments through production of a Tesla pickup truck, Tesla Semi and a ‘Minibus’ based on the Model X chassis.
The expansion into new segments is aligned with the Tesla’s updated Master Plan which now envisions a future full of self-driving vehicles that can be summoned via app and shared amongst riders.
