Author: Neal E. Boudette and Raymond Zhong / Source: New York Times
Frederic J. Brown/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Tesla has unveiled a compact sport utility vehicle called the Model Y, in its latest effort to broaden its product range while contending with problems on a number of fronts.
Speaking on Thursday night at an event at the company’s design center in Hawthorne, Calif.
, Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, touted the new electric vehicle’s performance and safety-focused design.“It has the functionality of an S.U.V., but it will ride like a sports car,” Mr. Musk said. “This thing will be really tight in corners. And we expect it will be the safest midsize S.U.V. in the world by far.”
Tesla, however, is still a long way from delivering the vehicle. It forecast that the earliest deliveries would begin in fall 2020, barring engineering or production delays of the sort that hampered its best-selling car, the Model 3.
Last year, Mr. Musk predicted that the Model Y would be ready for delivery in the first half of 2020. Tesla has not offered detailed plans for assembling the car, and recently said it would probably make the Model Y at its giant battery plant in Nevada.
Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, said Tesla’s goal of having the Model Y in volume production by the end of next year was a matter of concern.
“This timeline appears similar to the original timeline for the Model 3 ramp, which was ultimately delayed by nine-12 months,” he wrote in a note to investors.
By late 2020, Tesla will probably face…
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