Tesla Model Y unveiled

The Tesla Model Y unveiled on March 15 by Tesla chief executive Elon Musk will have “the functionality of an SUV but ride like a sports car”.

It will come in a several different models with about 450km range, have a top speed from about 190km/h to 240km/h, seat up to seven, have 1.9 cubic metres of cargo space, “be very safe” with five star ratings, including auto pilot and sell for about US$39,000 for a standard model to about US$47,000.

Musk revealed the Model Y in Los Angeles during a live streamed presentation which covered Tesla’s history.

He says Tesla went from making one car in 2010 (the Roadster) to now making 550,000 electric cars and plans to make a million cars in a year from now.

Musk talked about Tesla’s intent to make “sustainable energy products” and went on to say solar roofing, Powerwall home batteries and Powerpack industrial batteries would ramp up.

Tesla now also has 1400 Supercharger stations (12,000 plus superchargers) in 36 countries, he says.

A “Version 3” Supercharger is will provide a radical upgrade in 2020, Musk says, noting chargers started from about 75kW and now go to 250kW and possibly higher.