Just a few days after Tesla announced the US$35,000 Model 3, Elon Musk made an even bigger announcement confirming that a brand-new Tesla model — the fifth since the company was founded.
Previously, all the company had given us in terms of Model Y design was a shadowy digital silhouette, but now we know it’s going to be an SUV that falls between the Model 3 and Model X, the latter being Tesla’s first and bigger SUV.
More specifically, Musk stated that the model will be about 10 per cent bigger than the four-door sedan.
Musk goes on to explain what we can expect concerning the pricing (10 per cent more than the Model 3) and battery range (slightly less range than the Model 3), though neither will be officially announced until next week.
Also yesterday, the Tesla CEO said that the “First public Tesla V3.0 Supercharger Station goes live Wed 8pm.”
This version of the electric car charging station will allegedly be able to charge at a rate higher than 350kW; in fact, when asked if 350kW would be the rate, Musk responded, “A mere 350kW … what are you referring to, a children’s toy?”
For now, the maximum charging rate that Tesla cars can receive is 120kW, so this new Supercharger rate can be taken with a grain of salt unless vehicle hardware is also updated.
Perhaps the Model Y will be able to benefit from this heightened rate.
The Model 3 starts at US$26,950, so if the Model Y does cost about 10 per cent more, we can expect its starting price to be around US$29,645.
