Step under Tesla Model 3
With the Model 3 and more recently the Model Y, Tesla has translated the success of the Model S to lower segments. That of course tastes like more. There have been rumors for years about the arrival of a model below the Model 3 and it is that Tesla ‘Model 2’ of which Tesla itself may now have shown design sketches.
In a livestream from Tesla about the opening of its new development center in California, Tesla shows a few seconds of a shot in which a set of design sketches can be seen. In the shot, various design sketches are on a drawing table, but of course much more interesting is what can be seen on those drawings. We see a relatively small crossover that, given the short overhangs and wheelbase, seems a lot smaller than, for example, the Model 3 and Model Y. Yes, it is possible that these are design sketches of the Model Y, but we are not going to from. One of the half-covered pieces of paper shows a design sketch that Tesla used some time ago to illustrate a smaller model. On the sketches surrounding it, we seem to see the same non-existent model.
We have seen the sketch where the red arrow points to before.
When will the smaller Tesla arrive? That is still the question. At the beginning of 2022, Tesla indicated that it was not yet working on a more compact model at that time, but that could of course be different a year later. What to expect from the range of the officially nameless new Tesla? Count on various engines and more than one size battery pack, but don’t be surprised if the basic version already kicks up to about 400 kilometers. Knowing Tesla, the electric lung capacity is, among other things, combined with electric motors that provide impressive acceleration times, but it is not obvious that the emphasis is on that.
The arrival of the smaller Tesla probably stands or falls with the question of whether Tesla can keep the model affordable. If it comes, the model will undoubtedly be used on a large scale to reduce costs. Tesla may also build the car in its Gigafactory in Chinese Shanghai. Whether the small Tesla will be called ‘Model 2’ remains to be seen. In terms of positioning, that seems to work fine, but the number ‘2’ of course does not fit in with CEO Elon Musk’s long-running ‘joke’ to have the model names of his cars spell the word ‘SEXY’ (S3XY). On the other hand: ‘2 S3XY’ – or ‘too sexy’ is of course also a possibility. It all continues to look like coffee grounds, but a small Tesla is also interesting. Not only because a whole bunch of compact EVs will be arriving in the coming years, including those from the Volkswagen Group. The competitors are certainly not sitting still, so Tesla has work to do.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl