Tesla Model Y — Everything We Know So Far
Credit to Author: Steve Hanley| Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 00:00:36 +0000
Published on January 28th, 2020 | by Steve Hanley
January 28th, 2020 by Steve Hanley
Ryan Shaw is the creator of a YouTube channel that focuses on the Tesla Model Y. With the Q4 Tesla earnings call just a day away, many people are expecting details about the Model Y, including when deliveries will begin. In his latest video, uploaded on January 27, Shaw pulls together all the information we know — or think we know — in one place. Thanks to InsideEVs for bringing this video go our attention:
The video shows images of the Model Y undergoing cold weather testing in temperatures as low as 0° Fahrenheit (-17° C). One of the knocks on electric cars is that they do not perform as well when the temperature dips below freezing, so it is important that Tesla find out precisely how the Model Y will handle sub-freezing temperatures. It must help, as well, that approximately 76% of Model Y parts are also used in the Model 3.
A purported Tesla Model Y customer in Canada has claimed that he got a call from his Tesla representative telling him to prepare for delivery of his AWD car in March or April and that deliveries of the Performance version could begin in February. There has been speculation on CleanTechnica and Tesla forums that the post is bogus because why would Tesla start deliveries in Canada before US customers get their cars? And why aren’t more people talking about getting similar calls? Patience, grasshopper. All will be revealed soon.
Several photos of the third row seat in the Model Y have appeared online, and they seem to indicate there is virtually no leg room for people sitting back there. However, Shaw does a great job of showing the leg room in other compact SUVs that claim to have 7 passenger seating like the Toyota RAV 4 and Honda CR-V, and they also show that legroom for passengers in the third row is virtually nonexistent. He suggests the key is that all those cars allow their second row seats to slide forward. The Tesla second-row seats are expected to slide and fold electrically, as they have control buttons mounted on the outside of their bases like in the Model X or the front seats of the Model 3.
Several people have tweeted that they have sat in a Model Y and there is plenty of headroom (at least in the front and middle seats) even for those who are 6′ 6″ tall. Some folks who are tall in stature find the Model 3 a bit cramped when it comes to headroom, so this is good news for them. Our own Paul Fosse checked out the 3rd row of the Model Y while at the unveiling event (he went on a test ride) and his first takeaway article (of several) highlighted that the vehicle’s third row was key to the Model Y becoming the best selling vehicle in the world — just an expectation at this point. Much more detail and discussion on this matter is in that article. He also included a picture of the third row seating in that prototype, but no one was able to sit in that row for the test rides.
Photo of Tesla Model Y third row during test ride event, by Paul Fosse, CleanTechnica.
“Photo from my Model Y test ride. You can see that the way the 2nd row seats are set, there are only about 2 inches of space between the 2nd row and 3rd row seats. The driver said the adjustment mechanism for the 2nd row seats had been disabled.” — Paul Fosse, CleanTechnica
Deliveries to start in February? AWD versions in March or April? We should know more when the Q4 conference call end on Wednesday, January 29, and CleanTechnica will bring you all the latest news as soon as it happens.
More Tesla Model Y stories on CleanTechnica:
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Steve Hanley Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his homes in Florida and Connecticut or anywhere else the Singularity may lead him. You can follow him on Twitter but not on any social media platforms run by evil overlords like Facebook.