Multiple Tesla Model Y sightings hint at the all-electric crossover SUV's looming delivery date. Within two days, seemingly production-ready Tesla Model Y release candidates have been spotted by several people in the United States, particularly in the state of California.
On February 11, @nazuruddin, @vteq316, and @AmblardMobility, along with Reddit user u/sexnugget69 all reported a Model Y sighting involving a blue release candidate. It is unknown whether they saw the same all-electric crossover SUV or not. Another Model Y unit, this time in black, was spotted by @GomezLegacy8 the following day, February 12.
The Y on San Francisco Streets @Tesla @elonmusk @Teslarati @teslaownersSV @TeslaMotorsClub pic.twitter.com/4vY3fObajz
— Diacono Gomez🇲🇽🇺🇸 (@GomezLegacy8) February 11, 2020
Spotted a Tesla #ModelY for the first time on the streets of Palo Alto. Great looking! pic.twitter.com/E27M76r8F1
— Marc Amblard (@AmblardMobility) February 10, 2020
Strategy and business advisor @AmblardMobility said that he had spotted a Tesla Model Y in Palo Alto. The one that @GomezLegacy8 saw, on the other hand, was in San Francisco. @nazuruddin saw a Dual-Motor Model Y in an underground parking lot near Tesla’s Fremont factory.
Out of the five people who spotted the Model Y release candidates, two of them made some keen observations. @GomezLegacy8 noticed some writing on the black Model Y’s screen as it drove by and specifically circled it in yellow. Unfortunately, the screen was too blurry to make sense out of and decipher. Meanwhile, @vteq316 noted that the backseat of the Model Y was big enough to fit at least three car seats or one adult and two car seats.
Multiple sightings of the Model Y hint that Tesla may already be preparing for deliveries. During the Q4 2019 Earnings Call, CEO Elon Musk announced that Model Y production has started.
Tesla Model Y spotted on the road from r/electricvehicles
“Regarding Model Y, it was only ten months ago that we revealed a Model Y prototype. And now in January this year, we started producing Model Y in limited volumes already,” Musk said.
Tesla’s CEO also announced that the EPA rating of the Model Y had improved to 315 miles. “Now this is thanks to a great effort of our engineering team, and we managed to achieve by far the highest energy efficiency of any electric SUV ever produced at 4.1 miles per kilowatt-hour, which means Model Y four-wheeler drive got EPA rating of 315 miles and this improvement is reflected on the configurator as of today. This is above what we previously stated by a pretty significant margin,” Musk said. This was later confirmed on February 5, 2020.
Beautiful blue Tesla ModelY dual motor spotted!#Tesla #ModelY @ElectrekCo pic.twitter.com/9uuYvxopgY
— nazuruddin (@nazuruddin) February 10, 2020
One of the great things about @Tesla #ModelY is you'll be able to fit 3 car seats easily or 2 car seats and an adult in the back row. Notice the middle seat is much wider than in #Model3. It's going to be a great family car for small families. pic.twitter.com/rjr39n2XTR
— John_at_HelloVteq_com (@vteq316) February 11, 2020
Most of the requirements for the Model Y seem to be underway as well. VINs for the all-electric crossover SUV were seen in the NHTSA database in early January. The Model Y has also already received its CARB certification.
Tesla will likely deliver low volumes of the Model Y before mass deliveries are made. Model Y deliveries could start later this quarter or in Q2 2020.
Featured Image Credit: @nazuruddin, @vteq316, @GomezLegacy8 and @AmblardMobility/Twitter u/sexnugget69/Reddit
About the Author
Claribelle Deveza
Longtime writer and news/book editor. Writing about Tesla allows me to contribute something good to the world, while doing something I love.