Tesla started building its newest model, the Y, back in January and deliveries started on March 13th. This one was being delivered on the 17th to the couple that live across the street from the house I’m currently working on. It arrived with a driver/deliverer and a Model 3 chase car to presumably bring the delivery driver back to wherever they came from. A couple of days thereafter the Fremont plant that it is produced in was ordered to cease production due to the SF Bay Area’s current shutdown. Hence, what I thought would quickly become a frequent sight around these parts is likely to remain somewhat rare for now.
The opening shot was actually my second shot, taken while driving back home for dinner out the side window. The shot above is actually my first shot, zoomed in, and taken through the shrubs as I was somewhat self-conscious since I don’t know the owners and everybody was outside. Jim Dunne never would have let the camera focus on the twigs instead of the car, but let’s just call it an arty shot and enjoy it.
Personally, after seeing the Y in the metal, I find it to be the best effort yet in the range. The S, while striking, is a little thick in some parts (and getting seriously dated), the X is just odd and puffy, and the 3, while being a handy overall size suffers from too little tumblehome, thus giving it Very Large Head syndrome when viewed head on. This one is proportioned better (all of the above to my eyes at least, your opinion may differ). And while I usually prefer silver wheels, the blue paint on this one with the blacked out trim works quite well with the dark wheels. Love ’em or hate ’em, it’s still a new model which is exciting in any car, have you guys seen any yet?
They kind of all look the same to me? Which is not such a bad thing, as I find Teslas to be among the least offensive and sleekest designs out there right now.
But looking at this is like comparing a Gen 3 Prius to a Gen 2 one; I didn’t even realize there was a difference for years.
Fisker to me was the prettiest…but it was a hybrid. Fisker and musk became enemies. Fusker was designing cars for Tesla and muskv said fisker held out that design for fisker himself when musk had paid him.
Since I’m “over the hill” from Tesla ground zero, and I haven’t done any non-essential travel into Silicon Valley I can’t say I’ve noticed any yet. But I didn’t even realize that deliveries had started, so I’ll keep an eye out. We were up in Tahoe a few weeks ago and I was impressed by how many Tesla’s I saw on the roads and just parked in residential driveways, many caked in road grime and obviously local cars. With no high-altitude power drop off, gas at $4/gallon and a fair amount of sunshine for solar charging, and AWD they sure make sense in the mountain West if you can find charge stations on the rural roads … which is only an issue in a few locations, and getting fixed fast. By the way, I like the Model Y proportions and details, and I’m glad that Tesla is keeping the family design language after so many years.
In Western Michigan, there are a surprising number of Teslas. This is in a state where Tesla cannot sell directly to the public. We’re not crawling with them, but sighting one isn’t as big a deal as it was even a year ago. Most often I see a couple of Model S’s and 3’s during my travels around this part of town. There’s a Model X that lives near me (I believe) but I only see it rarely.
I doubt that I’ll see any model Y’s anytime soon; it took a while after the Model 3 was released before I saw any here. I suspect part of that is because folks here would have to travel to the Chicagoland area or even as far as Indianapolis or Cleveland to purchase and service the cars.
I haven’t really seen one in the flesh to know how I feel about the styling. It seems to hew to the company line about how the cars should look. It’s reminiscent of the latest Mazda 3’s, where the hatchback has that kind of egg-shaped rear section, but the rest of the car fits in with the Mazda styling.
I guess your neighbors are lucky to have received their car, it looks like everyone else will have to wait a while, now.
The Y is the one if we were to get one. I’m totally over low cars; the TSX is starting to bug us for that reason, having had taller cars always before. The Y is destined to become the biggest seller in the line, as it’s roomier and has a hatchback and even the possibility of optional third row seats, for kids only.
It also has a heat pump instead of resistance heating, making it more efficient in cold weather.
The one for me as well. Though more for being the closest thing to a Tesla station wagon than for being tall.
Looks like a Model 3 standing on tip toe. Perhaps different in the flesh. Glad to see the silliness of the Model X not being repeated.
Yes, seems to avoid the being the badly proportioned mess of the X too.
If these pictures are doing this car justice, I like what I see here. Like Paul says above, being “totally over low cars”, I get it. As I age, even though I’ve always worshiped at the church of longer lower wider, I see the merit of these cars with a higher seating position. And my wife has felt this way longer than me.
This car actually looks good proportionally (again, if the pictures are doing it justice… Paul shoots a good profile pic… recall the ‘59 Caddy juxtaposed with his X-Box).
I honestly didn’t think I’d like it, but again… I haven’t seen it in the metal (carbon-fiber?).
Around here, we see the Model S, Model X (that one looks bloated to me) and many many Model 3(s)… heck, my nephew just bought one.
I’d consider this over a Model 3 once I see it, if I were in the market. Not yet, but it’s coming. Not a fan of the simple black/gray wheels on the 3, but these look pretty cool. I still think I’d go with another choice.
I don’t know, it has the same unfortunate egg shape the ugly X has, just not quite as bad being a fastback, but negates its benefit as a crossover in the process. I still think the “dated” model S looks the best of the Tesla line. Car styling has evolved glacially in the last ten years.
I find the X and Y to be completely stupid vehicles. The fastback roof negates a large portion of the utility of a…errrrr…. utility vehicle. I’d be fine with if they were presented as jacked-up S and 3 models for the aging population. But nooooo. Elon hypes things beyond their relevance. Ergo, they are stupid derivatives and the buyers are duped.
I normally don’t respond to comments like yours but I’ll make an exception this time. It has a fastback for a very good reason: aerodynamics. Which explains why the Model Y’s efficiency and range are much better than the competition. And in case you haven’t noticed, the Ford Mustang Mach E has an almost identical overall shape.
How often do folks fill up their CUVs to the roof? And keep in mind, due to the more efficient packaging of an EV, its load floor can be lower. Which explains how they can even package a third row of seats in it.
As I’ve said for a long time, Teslas are not for everyone. If you really need a Suburban, you’re in that group.
I’ll add this also. A friend has a Model S along with an Outback XT. I have ridden in his Tesla along with three other full sized American males and it is huge inside. And, the trunk room with the seats up is amazing; with seats down it easily swallows mountain bikes and is in fact my friend’s dump hauler … far roomier than his Outback. These cars have amazing packaging – don’t judge by appearances.
I don’t see how the load floor would be any lower than any other hatchback crossover. Yeah the EV design does add to some flatness in the lower areas, but that’s going to be much more prevalent in the passenger compartment without the need for a trans/driveshaft/exhaust tunnel. The load floor in the rear overhang however can’t possibly be that much lower than in a typical modern crossover, there’s likewise almost nothing of bulk occupying the structure underneath like a fuel tank or leaf spring mounting like in the old days. Based on the pictures the load floor is pretty typical in height for an average hatchback. Spare tire maybe or a plug/pump kit, but I’d assume the Tesla would have those too.
As for the utility I agree, I’ve been ripping the sudden imagined need for maximum utility that every proponent of the segment has proclaimed for ages. I both grin and wince seeing the U in CUV predictably sacrificed in the name of style, both confirming my anecdotal observations of single occupant elephants clogging the roads and mourning the utter collapse of automotive aesthetics. I do get taller cars = easier for some people, but for those of us under 6’ without physical health issues the only real benefit of the higher seating is to see around the ever taller modern traffic.
I like the Model Y better than the Mach-E however, nothing is redeeming in that piece of blasphemy (which looks like an old FX35 with a Pony badge)
If I want a car, I’ll buy a car. The dramatic slope of the rear impinges on cargo. Given that I used a Dodge Caliber to move house (a few larger items, like the bed, had to go in a different vehicle), that’s the kind of utility I’d expect from a $70,000 Utility vehicle.
Yes, $70,000, as equipped. You can see a lot more of it here.
Other manufacturers of fastback vehicles also offer 2-box vehicles for customers who value the “utility” of loading large cubes from the hardware store. A Mach-E is also not in my consideration list for this reason.
And a quick look at BMW and M-B sales will show their 2-box utilities greatly out-sell their tall fastback atrocities. But unlike Tesla, at least BMW and M-B don’t try to squeeze a 3-rd row seat in their tall fastbacks.
My complaint is Tesla’s over-hype of claiming to compete in the utility market. And I feel Elon is very disingenuous when he crams a 3rd row seat in his fastback vehicle’s.
And while I support a free market that develops a diversity of product types, I temper that “openness“ when externalities are ignored. Specifically, able-bodied people in high riding fastbacks are not enjoying any incremental function, but are needlessly obstructing my view of the road and consuming more energy than otherwise in a lower car.
I’ve yet to see one, and given the current situation not likely to for awhile. I find the Model 3 to be the best looking new car right now; in photos it looks a bit top-heavy toward the rear and the blank expression in front takes getting used to, but in person it looks stunning with its low cowl and hoodline suggestive of mid-engine sports cars. For this reason I’ll reserve opinions of the Y’s styling until I see one in the flesh. It loses that low windshield and svelte shape though, and I would have liked the 3’s chrome window frames. For better or worse, it looks far more like a tall hatchback than an SUV.
I nonetheless expect the Model Y to become Tesla’s best seller, given that small-to-midesize crossovers are the hottest automotive segment. The Y also looks like the most practical Tesla for most people; the extra height over the Model 3 means a bigger front trunk, higher seats, and much more rear legroom, and the hatchback opens up much wider than the 3’s separate trunk lid. I hope the upgraded electronics (like faster-charging USB-C ports) quickly work their way into other Teslas.
No Y, but a second ’20’ plate Tesla S parked on another driveway on my way to Sainsburys this morning.
Nope, not yet. I had not been watching for them, but will now. Or soon, at least.
Usually your pics are consistently well composed, with view selections well thought out. These are genuine ‘spy’ photos. 🙂
Haha, thanks, I’ve seen many of Hans Lehmann’s pix back when I used to read the Euro magazines and then Jim Dunne over here…. I just need much more graininess!
I had assumed that the “Y” would be a small or medium sized crossover, but I just checked it out, and it’s almost as big as the model”X” !
So I’m not going to contemplate an EV until I’m geriatric, but even with an ICE a Tesla would be unacceptable because of the touch-pad “switchgear”.
Based on the early model I rode in a few years back, I do like the Model “S”, apart from the touch-pad and lack of ICE, but all the current models look like a portrait without a face.
The Y is heavily based on the 3, and its length and width are almost identical. The main difference is the height. It’s essentially a Model 3 with a taller body.
I’d call the Model Y (and the 3 on which it’s based) a solidly mid-size vehicle. Compared to the X, it’s about a foot shorter (on a 3″ shorter WB), 3″ narrower, and 2″ lower.
It’s quite a bit smaller. Think BMW X5 vs X3. Almost everything can be voice commanded although I’ll admit some people are self-conscious speaking to their car, especially if not alone in the car.
I’m not a fan of Tesla (not so much the vehicles but the people who drive them). Still, I predict there will be a long wait to get a Model Y (after production resumes, that is). It’s the closest Tesla has to a CUV version of the Model 3, and that means it’s going to be one hot ticket.
“I’m not a fan of Tesla (not so much the vehicles but the people who drive them).” My BiL in San Francisco could drive a Model S but doesn’t for exactly this reason. Too bad. It’ll pass with volume and time.
I wonder if it’s the Doug DeMuro test car.
Fast, I’m sure. But 60k for a mid-size car (or is it a compact) is STILL a joke.
I was indifferent about Teslas. Plus: pretty stunning styling that isn’t trying to ape an ICE car (no fake grille crap), clean, brand-identifiable, modern, American and now, considered solid choices. Then a nerdy (this is a compliment) friend did a VERY specific cost analysis of a 2018 Tesla Model 3 (not the cheapest one) vs. a 2018 Ford Focus (not the cheapest one) for his 140 mile daily commute. With the price of e-charging, compared to gas (in California it’s typically $3.50/gallon at least), government incentives, the Tesla worked out to be the same price as the Focus. Obviously, I don’t have all his numbers, but with that info, the Tesla starts to make a lot of sense.
“No fake grille crap” … anymore. Check out a first gen pre facelift Model S. Biggest stupidest black fake oval grille in christendom. Even for the car that was supposed to be the groundbreaking market establishing first “real car” electric, they knew they couldn’t trust their zealot customers to grasp and accept “form follows function”, and plastered a stupid ICE mimic face on it so it would sell.
I’ll just leave this here…
I had to zoom in on the hubcaps to see the Audi logo, as that lower car is so outnumbered by the upper one, at least around here, that I dissent recognize it.