Tesla could start shipping off Model Y cars to its customers as soon as next month, Electrek reports, noting Tesla has started sending customers emails to confirm their availability for the delivery.
Initially, when Tesla showcased the crossover Model Y, plans were to begin deliveries in the third quarter of this year but it seems production has been ramping up faster than planned and Tesla is, unusually, ahead of schedule with it.
Tesla first said it had plans for another model in 2018 in the midst of production delays for the Model 3, so at the time many questioned the wisdom of launching yet another new car before it had tackled the problems around Model 3.
The company unveiled the Model Y last March: a crossover SUV, which sports a range of up to 300 miles, seats seven, and has a price tag of US$47,000. Chief executive Elon Musk at the time predicted the model will sell better than the other three combined.
At the release of the fourth-quarter results of the company, Musk said Tesla had increased the range of the Model Y to 315 miles and called it the most energy efficient electric SUV in the world.
A cheaper, shorter-range, version of the Model Y, at US$39,000 was to be made available to customers in the spring of 2021. Its battery would have the capacity to last for 230 miles.
Teslarati earlier this month reported Model Y cars were spotted on Tesla's test track at its Fremont factory ahead of the start of deliveries.
Last year, Tesla sold 367,500 cars globally, which was a record high for the company and more than its sales for 2017 and 2018 combined. This year, according to some forecasts, sales could top half a million cars, and some of this increase-if it materializes-will come from sales of the Model Y.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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