Tesla Model Y enters production in November 2019, report claims

It's been about a year since released a murky teaser for its smaller, more affordable Model Y crossover, and we haven't heard much about it since. Now, an anonymous source believes it could enter production as soon as next year.

Tesla has set a target date of November 2019 for the beginning of Model Y production, Reuters reports, citing two sources "with knowledge of the supply chain," which is likely referring to suppliers responsible for stocking Tesla's parts cabinets.

Tesla did not immediately return a request for comment, but it declined to comment to Reuters. Automakers routinely refuse to discuss future products until the timing is right. Next November is a long way away, and as we've seen in the past year, Tesla's production targets are about as fluid as the ocean.

The first image of the Model Y came from a shareholder meeting last June. At that time, Elon Musk claimed the Model Y would exist on its own platform, independent of the Model 3. Perhaps realizing that this would be a bad decision from both a financial and manufacturing standpoint, Musk later recanted, saying the Model Y will use "substantial carryover" from the Model 3.

Some automakers, like Volkswagen and , have or plan to have dozens of cars on a singular platform. Volkswagen will use a single platform for all its future electric vehicles, since the chassis will be designed from the outset with batteries and electric motors in mind.

If Model Y is coming as early as next year, it begs the question of when Tesla will start work on production examples of its electric Semi big-rig and the blisteringly quick Roadster successor. It doesn't appear that Tesla is adding any factories in the near future, and it's already having a jolly ol' time trying to ramp up Model 3 production alongside Model S and Model X production.

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