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Tesla Model Y goes on display outside of its Fremont seat factory

Tesla Model Y outside Fremont seat factory. | Image: Reddit u/hunrob

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Tesla recently had a Model Y on display for employees to see outside of its seat factory at 901 Page Street in Fremont, California, roughly 3 miles from the company’s main factory. In photos posted by multiple Reddit users, it appears the same deep blue metallic Model Y driven on stage and used for test drives at the car’s unveiling event last month was available in the building’s parking lot for a closer look.

The vehicle on display is outfitted with chrome-delete trim, a look that’s popular with the Tesla aftermarket community yet a standard factory offering for the Model Y. Additionally, the all-electric crossover is seen with Tesla Sport Wheels in the color black. Tesla offers Sport Wheels in silver as a $1,500 option in the Model 3 and Model Y online configurator.

The final production location for the Model Y is yet to be decided, as noted by CEO Elon Musk during Tesla’s Q1 2019 earnings call. He subsequently estimated a decision on the matter would be made within the next few weeks, the current close call being between the Fremont factory and Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, Nevada.

Space is limited in Fremont with the Model S, Model 3, and Model X lines already being produced there, and in Tesla’s Q4 2018 full year update, Musk indicated that the company’s Nevada facility might be the best manufacturing location for Model Y. Musk jokingly hinted that sprung structures, i.e., heavy-duty “tents” similar to those used to help expand Model 3 production, could be an option if space was limited wherever Model Y was ultimately made. “I’m a fan of tents, like real, hardcore tents,” Musk mused.

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Tesla’s Model Y is expected to be the highest-volume-production vehicle for the company when it goes on sale, even exceeding the mass market Model 3. In California, for example, Tesla was the highest sold alternative powertrain brand in 2018, and Model 3 represented 55% of all battery-electric vehicle sales. The popularity of the crossover SUV market is driving future Model Y sales predictions, and Elon Musk has anticipated a demand and delivery schedule that equates to 1 million units per year.

Production of the Model Y is expected to take place in late 2020 with the first deliveries beginning shortly thereafter.

Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Tesla Model Y L gets disappointingly far production date in the United States

Fans of the extended wheelbase six-seater in the United States are in for a long wait.

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Credit: @TeslaNewswire/X

The Tesla Model Y L is making a lot of waves in the electric vehicle community, but fans of the extended wheelbase six-seater in the United States are in for a long wait.

This was, at least, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who provided a disappointingly long timeline for the Model Y L’s production in the United States.

The Model Y L

The Model Y L has received near universal acclaim from electric vehicle enthusiasts and auto reviewers in China alike. Priced at just RMB 339,000 ($47,180) and fitted with a spacious and comfortable cabin, the Model Y L seemed destined to become a segment killer. And since the vehicle is also produced in Tesla’s existing Model Y lines, it seemed like the vehicle would be released worldwide soon. 

It was then no surprise that many Tesla community members were keen on asking if the Model Y L will be released in the United States anytime soon. Others also wondered why CEO Elon Musk was very quiet about the vehicle despite all the buzz it was generating. Eventually, Musk did share an update about the Model Y L, but it was not what many expected.

Elon Musk’s update

Amidst the conversations on X about the Model Y L, longtime FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog noted that Elon Musk would not be saying anything about the vehicle until its international release, likely because he would like to avoid an Osbourne Effect on the standard Model Y. Tesla’s sales today are still highly dependent on the standard Model Y, after all, as it is the company’s best-selling vehicle.

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Musk responded to the FSD tester, stating that the Model Y L will not start production in the United States until the end of 2026. He also noted that the vehicle might not even make it in America at all, considering Tesla’s focus on self-driving. “This variant of the Model Y doesn’t start production in the US until the end of next year. Might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America,” Musk wrote in his post.

Musk’s post was received with much disappointment from many X users, some of whom joked that the CEO was risking alienating families with three kids with his comments. The Model Y L, after all, is a legitimate family car that can comfortably seat six, and it seemed like a vehicle that Musk would prioritize considering his stance on people having bigger families. Of course, the CEO might still just be preventing an Osbourne Effect with his comments, but it’s difficult to deny that a 2026 U.S. production date for the Model Y L is still disappointing.

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Tesla’s Elon Musk considers insane Cybertruck mod: ‘Maybe we should make this’

The Cybertruck won’t do what the video shows (at least not in our lifetime), but a very entry-level version of it could be developed.

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Credit: Cybertruck | X

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has teased what could potentially be the company’s next big project, and while it is likely many, many years away, it shows the company truly has its sights set on the craziest things the world has seen.

Musk shared a video created by Grok Imagine, the AI tool that is able to take images and turn them into videos, showing a Cybertruck flying above the clouds and buildings of what appears to be a very futuristic city.

There are also massive robots roaming around in the video, so it is obviously an illustration of what life could look like in several generations.

However, Musk, who does not shy away from some really optimistic projects and goals, shared the video on X and said, “Maybe Tesla should make this.”

What is depicted in the video is not what we’d see Tesla create anytime soon. However, the company could potentially engineer something to make the Cybertruck hover, as it plans to do with the Roadster.

Of course, this is likely a huge “if” considering the current state of the car industry. Vehicles are becoming more advanced with every passing day as companies like Tesla, Waymo, and others are working to sort out things like autonomous and driverless travel.

Tesla has been working on somewhat of a similar idea with the Roadster, a vehicle that has been delayed on several occasions because of Musk’s spectacular imagination. Earlier this year, Tesla’s Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen, revealed Musk wanted to push the limits of that vehicle even more.

The new Tesla Roadster will be able to fly: Elon Musk

It seems it could be on the way soon, considering Tesla has teased an “epic” demo for the car, which could come before the end of the year.

Tesla has been working to make the Roadster hover, using SpaceX cold gas thrusters. It will also utilize these for what could be an incredibly fast 1.1-second 0-60 MPH acceleration rate that has been teased countless times.

This project that Musk is teasing with the Cybertruck is likely one that we will not see in our lifetimes. However, this is just one example of the outlandish ideas Musk continues to tease for Tesla in the future.

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Tesla Model Y L addresses one huge complaint from many owners

If you have ever used a wireless charger inside a Tesla or almost any vehicle, for that matter, you will notice that your phone will charge slowly, and it will get extremely hot. This is mostly due to the inherent inefficiency of electromagnetic induction, which is the process that wireless chargers use to transfer energy to the phone.

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The new Tesla Model Y L is officially launching in China at a great price and with all of the awesome features of the original model, but with more space. The vehicle is also addressing one huge complaint that many owners have discussed.

The new Model Y L features a more spacious interior, new front seats with adjustable headrests, captains chairs, and mechanical armrests in the second row, and B Pillar air vents for improved circulation.

Tesla Model Y L officially launched: price, features, and more

However, there are some other features that are flying under the radar, including one that addresses a common complaint of many Tesla owners: wireless charging.

If you have ever used a wireless charger inside a Tesla or almost any vehicle, for that matter, you will notice that your phone will charge slowly, and it will get extremely hot. This is mostly due to the inherent inefficiency of electromagnetic induction, which is the process that wireless chargers use to transfer energy to the phone.

The inefficiency is evident in the heat, as that is the lost energy that should be going to the phone, but does not.

To combat this problem, Tesla has rolled out a new feature with the wireless charging mat in the Model Y L.

Tesla has used small slit air vents in the center of the wireless charger, which separates the two pads, to blow cool air on the phones to prevent overheating:

This will keep the temperature of your phone down and could prevent the dreaded “iPhone too hot” message that deems your device unusable until it reaches a more stable temperature.

Additionally, Tesla has upgraded the driver’s side wireless charger to support 50W charging speeds. The passenger charger remains at 30W.

This is a small but valuable improvement to the wireless charging apparatus could be a game changer, as there have been so many complaints about this feature in other Tesla vehicles.

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