Tesla Rolls Out an Electric SUV

Model Y will 'ride like a sports car,' Musk says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 15, 2019 2:26 AM CDT
Tesla Is Making an SUV
Tesla's Model Y is displayed at Tesla's design studio Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Hawthorne, Calif.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Tesla rolled out its new electric SUV Thursday night, and analysts say the Model Y could be the company's most profitable vehicle yet. "It has the functionality of an SUV, but it will ride like a sports car," CEO Elon Musk told the audience at Tesla's design studio in Hawthorne, Calif. "This thing will be really tight on corners and we expect it will be the safest midsize SUV in the world by far." He said a long-range version that can go 300 miles on a single charge will be available next year for $47,000, with a $39,000 version coming in 2021, the Guardian reports.

With SUVs dominating auto sales in North America, providing an all-electric alternative could be a massive win for Tesla, experts say. "This could be Tesla's most profitable vehicle, with the giant asterisk that the company doesn't do some of the dumb things it has in the past," Gartner analyst Mike Ramsey tells the AP. He has his doubts, however, about whether the company has the manufacturing capacity to deliver the vehicle on the schedule Musk has promised. "Until Elon is gone, Tesla is going to be a crazy company that occasionally makes breathtaking products," he says. (The company recently reversed plans to close its showrooms and shift all sales online.)

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