Elon Musk announces Tesla Model Y unveil date, first Supercharger V3 station opening

Elon Musk just announced the date for Tesla Model Y unveil on Twitter — Mar 14 — Tesla’s mid-sized SUV has been a mystery for years that’s going to be unraveled in less about 11 days. The Model Y unveil event will be held at the Tesla Design Center located in Hawthorne, CA.

Participants of the event will also be offered test drives in Tesla Model Y and there will be no restrictions on taking photos or shooting videos of the electric SUV.

Tesla Supercharge V3 technology can also be seen in action in a couple of days as Elon Musk also revealed that the first Supercharger V3 Station will go live on this coming Wednesday.

At the end of 2016, Elon Musk said that the next version of the Supercharger will be able to output more than 350 kW per stall (divided between 2 vehicles), the current Supercharger V2 technology provides a max 135 kW per stall and 120 kW max per car.

Update: Tesla launches Supercharger V3, more info, and video.

Coming back to Model Y unveil, this surely is the most exciting event for EV enthusiasts after the Tesla Model 3 unveil from 2016, with electric SUVs like the Jaguar I-Pace, Hyundai Kona Electric, and Audi e-tron making their way to the market, perhaps it was inevitable for Tesla to unveil Model Y to keep the potential customers and the community engaged.

Tesla teased the Model Y SUV in their 2018 promo video with a curtain covering the vehicle leaving just a little bit visible, now is the time to fully uncover the younger but bigger sibling of the Tesla Model 3.

Yes, as we can see in the above Elon Musk tweet, Tesla Model Y is 10% larger than the Model 3 this increases the cost of the Model Y about 10% than the Model 3 — the Math here says the top variant of the Model Y then will cost in the price bracket of $63,000 to $64,000 USD for the North American region.

The bigger size of the Model Y will also decrease the range by 10% for the same battery size the Model 3 uses (74 kWh as the European Model 3 Performance clearly labels) — again doing simple Math reveals for a 74 kWh battery pack with software unlocked pack will give around 290 – 295 miles of range.

Staying on the optimistic side, Tesla should easily be able to equip the Model Y with a 10% larger battery pack, 80 kWh battery should be able to give the same range as Model 3 Performance (325 miles after software unlock).

Built on the Tesla Model 3 platform, Model Y should be able to go into production and delivery much sooner than the Model 3. Expectedly Tesla Model Y will follow the same design pattern as the Model 3 thus will look much similar but bigger, taller, and might be more attractive than the 3.

Explaining the scientific comparison of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, Elon Musk said:

Slightly higher drag * slightly higher frontal area affects air friction & mass affects rolling resistance & hill climb. Physics is the law.

Tell us what you think about the Model Y unveil event and how it will follow the Tesla tradition of disrupting vehicle segments, this time mid-sized SUV.

Related:

• Tesla releases another Model Y teaser image, revealing more about the car’s design
• Elon Musk’s interview about Chinese Gigafactory, Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y
• Tesla offers a cheaper long-range RWD Model 3 in China, test drives available at Tesla Stores
• Elon Musk talks about new Gigafactories and State Policies to ensure sustainability
• The first teaser image of Model Y revealed by Tesla
• Tesla China finds a creative solution for Supercharger ICE-ing issue