S-3-X-Y? Sneaky sneaky, Mr. Musk.
After renaming itself to ‘Tesla Inc,’ the fast-paced California-based company is now on the edge of what it describes as a “massive” expansion of production, with two new cars expected in as many years.
Detailed in an Autocar report, the hotly-anticipated Model 3 will be joined by a compact crossover built on the same platform. Rumoured to be billed the ‘Model Y,’ the new model will sit alongside the Model 3, the same way the Model X offers a more practical, high-riding alternative to the Model S.
The Model 3 is expected to hit the market at US$37,000 (or just under the $50k mark in our money), with the Model Y coming in at a bit of a premium above that (think BMW X3, and we reckon you should be there). Tesla founder Elon Musk has alluded that the average purchase price of the new compact Teslas may end up being slightly higher though, as buyers usually ply on the options before taking one home.
The Model Y may very well prove to be Tesla’s best-seller, eclipsing the Model 3 that already has over 400,000 bookings. SUVs are all the rage now, and the bigger Model X has already found loyal fans and followers the world over. The Model Y is expected to retain the ‘falcon wing’ rear doors from the bigger Model X, and is speculated to pack greater autonomous-driving hardware to imbue it with fully-autonomous capabilities.
Future Tesla vehicles will come with as many as eight cameras, capable of feeing a 360-degree view of the car and its surroundings, supplemented by 12 ultrasonic sensors and forward facing-facing radar that won’t be fazed by heavy rain or fog (the way current systems do). Musk has also alluded to serious computing power in the new crop of Teslas, calling the hardware a “supercomputer inside the car.” The cost of all this tech, for the entry-level Model 3 & Y, will likely come in around $11,000 per customer, though local regulations may see full functionality limited due to legislation.
With the Model Y due in 2019, Tesla will boast a model lineup capable of meeting Elon Musk’s targets of assembling 500,000 cars a year by that time. At present, the multi-billion dollar expansions of Tesla’s facilities aren’t letting up, indicating that the company is right on track to meet its lofty targets.
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