No Falcon Doors. No crazy gimmicks like Bioweapon Defense Mode. No pickup truck. No zany new features to spread to other cars. Tonight’s reveal of the Tesla Model Y crossover was, compared to many of the automaker’s previous dazzling Apple-like presentations, pretty boring. It felt normal—as does the car.
No Falcon Doors. No crazy gimmicks like Bioweapon Defense Mode. No pickup truck. No zany new features to spread to other cars. Tonight’s reveal of the Tesla Model Y crossover was, compared to many of the automaker’s previous dazzling Apple-like presentations, pretty boring. It felt normal—as does the car.
Three wild years after the introduction of the Tesla Model 3, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally…
The Model Y is a taller Model 3 with a hatch, as expected. That’s pretty much it. Inside and out, nothing feels really new here. It’s a crossover in the same way that most crossovers are lifted hatchbacks, really. It’s not some wild, radical, complicated experiment the way the Model X was. It’s as straightforward a product as Tesla has done yet.
And that says a lot about Tesla’s trajectory, and where it needs to be right now. Despite setbacks, quality issues, production troubles and its CEO’s penchants for innovation and self-sabotage in equal measure, it’s rapidly transforming from boutique, niche brand to a mainstream car company—especially as every other automaker goes big on electricity too.
