Tesla Model Y: Elon Musk confirms 14 March launch date

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has confirmed that the electric car company’s new budget SUV, the Model Y, will be unveiled in Los Angeles on 14 March.

In a series of tweets, Musk revealed that the SUV will be around 10% larger than the current Model 3 saloon and will cost around 10% more.

That means the Model Y would carry a price tag of about $38,000 (£28,700) if an entry-level Standard Range version were to be offered, says Autocar.

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Musk also confirmed that the Model Y, which shares around 75% of its components with the Model 3, will use the same battery system as the electric saloon. But owing to the SUV’s larger proportions, its battery range will be slightly less than the Model 3’s.

Although the SUV’s official specs won’t be revealed until the car’s unveiling next Thursday, the Daily Express expects the Model Y to have a battery range of between 190 and 290 miles - depending on the spec buyers choose.

The Model Y will become the first car to be produced at the company’s “Gigafactory” in Nevada, the same facility where Tesla produces its batteries and electric motors, says Auto Express.

This should “eliminate the clumsy transportation network” Tesla uses to move batteries and motors between Nevada and its assembly plant in California, a process that “plagues” the assembly lines of the Model S, Model X and Model 3, the motoring mag says.

An official on-sale date has yet to be revealed. Production was expected to start this year, though TechRadar says Model Y manufacturing has since been pushed back to 2020.