Tesla Model Y Electric SUV REVEALED – and it has 7 seats

The Tesla Model Y electric SUV has been revealed by Elon Musk, an SUV take on the Model 3, and it gets a seven seat option.

This is the new Tesla Model Y, an SUV take on Tesla’s Model 3, revealed to the world in the last few hours by Elon Musk. 

To be honest, there are no big surprises with the Model Y, except perhaps the fact that you will be able to option it with a third row of seats. So despite it being at the compact end of SUVs you will be able to have a third row of proper, front-facing seats. Although we’re not sure how small you’ll need to be to fit in.

Elsewhere it’s all much as expected, with the Model Y about 10 per cent bigger than the Model 3 (think  X1 to X3 size) and carries over whatever it could from the Model 3 to keep costs in check. So it looks like a Model 3 Hatch on stilts with an interior which appears to have been borrowed wholesale too.

In terms of cost, the prices quoted (this is Tesla – they may change next week) for the Standard Range Model Y with 230 miles of range and a 0-62mph of 5.9 seconds is $39,000, £$,000 more than the Model 3. Although Tesla are unlikely to build it for a while.

Move in the direction of a Model Y you actually want, and the Long Range model offers 300 miles of range and 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds for $47,000, the 4WD Dual Motor 280 miles and 4.8 seconds for $51,000 and the Model Y Performance 4WD 280 miles and 3.5 seconds for $60,000.

That sort of pricing puts the entry-level Model Y in the States at about $10k more than a Hyundai Kona EV, and the Performance Model Y is knocking on the door of the Jaguar I-Pace. Interesting.

Arguably, the Model Y could be more important for Tesla than the Model 3. Having almost invented the ‘Premium’ EV space, Tesla will now have to battle for Model Y sales with both established premium makers rapidly rolling out EVs and mainstream makers doing the same.

Are there enough Teslarati to make the Model Y a success?