Tesla is gearing up to launch its vehicles in the Indian automotive market, as the company’s Model Y electric crossover was recently spotted in Himachal Pradesh. Tesla’s Model Y is a crossover EV and a jacked-up version of the Model 3. While the mid-size SUV has been seen testing the car in several parts of the country, however, it is the first time the American EV carmaker commenced testing in cold-weather regions.
It was earlier rumoured that Tesla will be first launching the Model 3 in the sub-continent. Model 3 is currently the most affordable vehicle in Tesla’s line-up. The five-seater too was spotted testing many times on Indian roads.
The Model Y is based on the Model 3 and the SUV almost looks similar to its fastback mid-size four-door sedan. It even shares close to 75 per cent of its components with the sedan, however, the crossover has a raised ride height and some minor design changes. Tesla’s SUV comes in two variants – Long-Range and Performance. While the former can carry up to seven people, the latter has a five-seater layout. The Long Range trim has a driving range of 524 km and can hit 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds and has a top speed of 217 km/h. The Performance variant can hit the 100 km/h speed mark in just 3.5 seconds and has a driving range of 487 km, with a top speed of 250 km/h. The Model Y comes with a single or dual-motor setup and has Autopilot, semi-autonomous driving capability. The vehicles can be updated Over-The-Air (OTA) as well.
The Long Range variant comes with 18-inch alloy wheels as standard and potential buyers can opt for the larger 20-inch ones. Whereas, the Performance variant gets a 21-inch alloy set of wheels and a few other upgrades too.
As a standard, the interior of the Model Y is finished in an all-black theme, however, users can upgrade to a black and white theme. The cabin of the vehicle is very minimalistic, as there is no instrument cluster or buttons for other functions for the driver. Everything has been built into the 15-inch touchscreen that sits bang in the middle of the dashboard, other features include wireless charging and a panoramic glass roof among others.