True. Not opposed to an early unveil, but just seems like they are razor focused on cutting costs and ramping production for Model 3. Also, Tesla has never been on time with volume production of new cars. Would assume at least an additional 6-12 months on top of Tesla’s guidance on Model Y production.
At least as it relates to the Model 3, they started production (as limited as it was) when they said they were going to start- the ramp was just longer and slower. Model 3 was unveiled March 31 2016. They started production (as announced) June 2017. They reached 5000/wk production run rate by June of 2018, about 6 months later than they wanted.
We'll have to see when they say they're actually going to start production at the unveil, but considering the 76% parts crossover, I can't help but be optimistic that the scale of the S Curve will be tighter. I wouldn't quite call this a Model 3 variant, but it's not far off.
And honestly I'm just being selfish. Shortly before the Model 3 was released was when I first starting paying attention to Teslas. At that point the Model Y was already being rumoured, and I knew it was the one I wanted to wait for to replace our family SUV. We're SO CLOSE now- over 3 years later, I'm just really jazzed to finally see this thing.
The only other thing to take into account is that there's way more EV SUV competition coming up this year- Tesla unveiling the Model Y, allowing reservations and giving a production timeline, could well keep customers from buying a Kona, Niro, or competing mid-market SUV coming out this year.