Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla will be ramping up right-hand-drive Model Y production amid increased demand. The Model Y is Tesla's crossover SUV that was unveiled in 2019 before production started the following year. It is based on the Model 3 platform and is available in two versions – Long Range and Performance. While the former offers an EPA-estimated 326-mile range, the latter can go 303 miles on a single charge. There have also been rumors of a new Model Y variant with a 400-mile range, but nothing has materialized on that front yet.
Tesla is one of the preeminent electric vehicle makers in the world and has four vehicles in its portfolio — the Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X. The current spike in gas prices has raised the demand for its cars significantly, and the company has been countering some of that demand with multiple price hikes. In March, the company increased the prices of all its EV models by up to $10,00, citing increased input costs following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This followed a $1,000 price hike for all its models a few days earlier. The price hikes mean that none of Tesla's offerings qualify for EV subsidies in California anymore.
Tesla opened orders for the Model Y in Australia just last week, and the company is already overwhelmed with the response it is getting in the island nation. The estimated delivery dates of the vehicle in the country are already running deep into next year, but Tesla is now apparently doing something to change that. In a tweet addressing the situation, Elon Musk said that the company is working on ramping up production for the right-hand-drive Model Y to meet demand. He also claimed that Tesla had not anticipated demand for the vehicle to be so high.
Long Waiting Periods For The Model Y In Australia
Musk was answering tweets posted by Aussie tech blog TechAU, which seems to show that both the RWD base model and the AWD Performance model of the Model Y have incredibly long waiting periods in the land Down Under. They are only expected to be delivered between Feb. 2023 and May 2023. While the former costs A$68,000, the latter comes with a cool A$93,000 price tag.
Teslas are sold in a handful of right-hand drive markets worldwide, including Australia, New Zealand and Japan. If the latest developments are anything to go by, they're just as popular in these regions as they are in the U.S and Canada. As for why the Model Y is so popular, it is a practical vehicle that offers a good amount of storage space, extra leg room, a commanding seating position, and the option to configure it as a seven-seater with an extra row of seats at the back. Overall, the Tesla Model Y is an attractive car for many families, and the ramped-up production simply cannot come too soon for most of them.
Source: Elon Musk/Twitter, TechAu/Twitter