Tesla’s next vehicle is expected to take the company to new heights. According to Elon Musk himself, the Tesla Model Y is an affordable SUV that will outsell all other Tesla models combined. The statement might sounds outrageous but SUV’s are actually a rapidly growing segment that will consume half of all new car sales this year. The high praised Tesla Model 3 was just the ignition needed for the Model Y to become one of the best selling vehicles in America.
Using public records and history as guidance we previously speculated that the Tesla Model Y would begin deliveries as soon as next month. With some new information attained the original statement made could be a bit optimistic. Our unnamed and previously reliable source at Tesla has made some bold statements.
New Information
Originally the Tesla Model Y was scheduled to begin deliveries this fall. That date was later and officially moved up to summer of this same year. According to our source, the Tesla Model Y is ahead of schedule and will begin mass deliveries in March. This falls in line with previous reports of Model Y part suppliers being rushed in order to begin deliveries this quarter.
The senior Tesla employee states that the Model Y is actually already in production as we speak. According to his information, the Model 3 production lines have been split in order to accommodate the Model Y. The S & X lines have also slowed down to relocate resources. The Model Y train is full steam ahead.
Saw it myself today on the factory tour 😎
— Javier I. (@IndecentP3D) January 17, 2020
We’ve also received confirmation from multiple sources that Tesla employees were flown out last week to begin Model Y training. This entails a walk through of the vehicle, test drives, and service lessons. A strict ‘no phones’ policy is in effect for those anywhere near the vehicle.
Update: A Tesla Model Y reservation holder has received a phone call from Tesla confirming that performance deliveries will begin in February with the Long Range AWD variant beginning deliveries in March.
Speculations
There’s still many unanswered questioned regrading the Model Y and its initial deliveries. Only one trim has yet to receive it’s CARB (California Air Resource Board) certification, a AWD performance model with 309 miles of range. The Model Y was set to come with a ‘Founders Edition’ and many are speculating that this vehicle could very well be that model and will be the one beginning deliveries in the next couple of weeks.
It’s unclear if deliverers will begin initially for employees only or for nationwide consumption. Discussing a specific Tesla store location we were told that over 600 vehicles have already been scheduled for delivery in March. These are not Model Y sales, rather other vehicles where owners have been notified with a scheduled delivery date in March. That very same location had a record breaking 1000+ deliveries in December.
With Tesla orders continuously growing and the Model Y around the corner I suspect that 600 vehicle figure has intentionally left a significant gap for the Model Y to fill. The company could be limiting scheduled deliveries in the coming months to save room for the Model Y. This is just a speculation as EOY sales tend to be higher when companies rush to increase their annual delivery numbers and clear out old inventory.
This same location has nearly no deliveries going on right now with an unimpressive figure scheduled for next month. Tesla ended the year delivering cars at a faster pace than they could produce them leaving a car shortage across the country. There’s simply no inventory available which will most likely lead to poor January and February figures. If you order a Tesla today the estimated time frame is 6-9 weeks.
If our source checks out this extended wait time could also be due to current vehicle production being halved with the Tesla Model Y taking up the resources. If that’s the case Tesla could be currently building up significant Model Y inventory to avoid some of the bottlenecks seen initially with the Model 3.
The Tesla Model Y was unveiled on March 15th of last year. Delivering this vehicle in under 12 months from its showcasing would be an impressive feat in the eyes of investors. It’s an ambitious goal that seems to be on track.
Disclaimer: Our source has been reliable in the past but take this with a grain of salt. We understand that without naming names or showing documentation, credibility is limited. If we shared everything we had we’d no longer have a source. It’s the catch-22 of media.
Keep in mind that Tesla is a company that spontaneously makes last minute changes. An example of this would be last year when the company announced it would close all of its stores and restrict sales to online. Some employees were set to be relocated only to find out just days later that the project was scraped. As accurate as this information can be today, everything could change tomorrow.
The new information regarding a two week timeline comes from a Tesla owner on Reddit and is reconfirmed through a separate source from InsideEvs
