Tesla’s Model Y was unveiled just under a year ago, and at the time the promise was for a Fall 2020 commercial roll-out of the model. But it is now already possible to pre-order the Long Range and Performance versions.
As well, website The Verge reports that in a letter sent to investor, Tesla says that it will be ready to start shipping the first units of the Model Y in March 2020, well before the original timeline, which was autumn 2020.
At the same time, the pricing will be higher than initially promised. The asking price for the Long Range version is $72,390 CAD, while the Performance version costs $84,390. For justification, Tesla can point to the range, which has also been boosted in comparison with earlier predictions, going from 450 km to 507 km. 0-100 km/h acceleration time is unchanged, at 5 seconds.
Production of the regular Model Y will still only begin in 2021, however, so consumers interested in the more affordable editions will have to wait. This version will be built at Tesla’s factory in Shanghai, China, while the Long Range and Performance editions will be assembled at the company’s plant in Freemont, California.
The Model Y will be equipped with Tesla’s advanced self-driving technology as well.
According to Elon Musk, that system will be “feature-complete”, which he also clarified to mean that a Model Y driver will have “some chance of going from your home to work with no interventions… that doesn’t mean features are working well” all the time.
In plain English, the system has capabilities but not everything will work in complete harmony all the time. While it has been rated to provide Level 5 autonomous drive capabilities, the technology is not yet perfect.