Elon Musk took to the stage Thursday night in Los Angeles to take the wraps off Tesla"s newest thingamajig aimed at dominating the electric vehicle market: the Model Y. Starting at $39,000, the car bears a striking resemblance to the company"s Model 3, but with a few key upgrades that may sway you to buy this car over its smaller sibling.
First and foremost is the larger size of the SUV: its interior of 66 cubic feet can accommodate an optional third row of seats to comfortably transport seven people at the same time. It"s also raised a little higher than the Model 3. Otherwise, the interior and the design of the two cars are largely similar, with the Model Y also sporting a single 15-inch screen for accessing the car"s controls, as well as the option to link the car to your smartphone. This way your phone also serves as your "car key".
The car will be made available with four different options: a Standard Battery variant with a range of 230 miles, a Long Range model that can go 300 miles without needing to recharge, and Dual-Motor All-Wheel Drive and Performance models with a 280 mile range. These will retail for $39,000, $47,000, $51,000 and $60,000, respectively. The performance model"s high price is owing to its impressive top speed of 150 mph, and it can go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds.
Tesla will start selling the Performance, Long Range, and Dual-Motor All-Wheel Drive models starting Fall 2020, while buyers of the Standard model will need to wait till Spring of 2021.