Blog Report: Model Y to Be Built in Fremont, Model S Refresh Coming in September

Tesla’s Fremont, Calif. factory will receive a refresh to make way for production of the Model Y crossover SUV and an updated version of the Model S sedan, according to a report from CNBC.

Chief Executive Elon Musk has suggested that Model Y would be built in Fremont, but Tesla hasn’t officially announced that plan. Speaking on Tesla’s Q1 2019 earnings call, Musk said the company is still trying to make a “close call” on “whether Model Y vehicle production should be in California or Nevada,” referring the company’s Fremont factory or Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, Nev.

Tesla has “barely begun to place orders for new equipment to manufacture the Model Y,” employees told CNBC. Tesla has said Model Y will start being delivered in Fall 2020

Preparing for Model Y production in Fremont means Model S and Model X production would be combined into one line, CNBC reported.

Employees said the coming Model S update will include a minimalist interior similar to the Model 3, the same drive units and seats used in the higher-end Model 3, and a battery that delivers 400 miles of range on a full charge. Tesla aims to begin production on the new version of its flagship sedan in September, CNBC reported.

 

[Brando]

Does every generation have to relearn?

Osborne effect - Wikipedia

Perhaps they need to slow down demand to allow for factory upgrades and prepare for buy vs build decisions on parts.
I have NO idea - just a random thought.

New EV buyers may not care. They just compare what is currently available in their area and Model S still many advantages IF those features matter to the buyer. Raven update offers plenty.

Color & style matter most to some buyers - or favorite brand.

 

[PismoPat]

If they take away the driver's console, I won't be updating. It will just be a bigger, more expensive Model 3.

 

[seattlite2004]

If they take away the driver's console, I won't be updating. It will just be a bigger, more expensive Model 3.

But..it will probably come with a HUD, Heated Steering Wheel, active cooled seats, sunroof...basically options that will be missing on the Model 3.

 

[PismoPat]

But..it will probably come with a HUD, Heated Steering Wheel, active cooled seats, sunroof...basically options that will be missing on the Model 3.

I'd have to see the HUD. Door pockets would also be a big plus to update. Four hundred mile range and a tow hitch (for bikes) would be a big attraction.

 

[tomas]

The model S is a classic design. I’m sure the new S will be equally impressive, but different. And, just like a new generation of MB S series or other well designed flagships... some will prefer the old and some will prefer the new. In any regard, when the Y comes out, the S and X will become far less important to Tesla’s market and economic success. High margin cars, but selling in far lower volumes than the 3 or Y.

 

[PismoPat]

The model S is a classic design. I’m sure the new S will be equally impressive, but different. And, just like a new generation of MB S series or other well designed flagships... some will prefer the old and some will prefer the new. In any regard, when the Y comes out, the S and X will become far less important to Tesla’s market and economic success. High margin cars, but selling in far lower volumes than the 3 or Y.

I would hope, but Tesla really seems to be infatuated with the M3 when the MS has been their foundation.

 

[David29]

Intriguing but possibly disturbing report. Eliminating the instrument cluster from the Model S would not make me happy. Version 9 of the firmware, with its reduced functionality, is already bad enough! Then again, trying to be objective, I am torn between my comfort level with the Model S, which I have been driving for 3-1/2 years, and the uncomfortable fear that I am too resistant to change. Hundreds of thousands of Model 3 owners seem to have been managing just fine with the minimalist interior and single screen, so why couldn't I?
But practically speaking, I am not in the market for a car, and can wait to see what actually happens. As a retiree, I am in no hurry to splurge on a newer car. (God forbid my car should be totaled in a crash!)
Perhaps most important, the article could be wrong on any number of details. So I will try to wait and see....

 

[Jedi2155]

Intriguing but possibly disturbing report. Eliminating the instrument cluster from the Model S would not make me happy. Version 9 of the firmware, with its reduced functionality, is already bad enough! Then again, trying to be objective, I am torn between my comfort level with the Model S, which I have been driving for 3-1/2 years, and the uncomfortable fear that I am too resistant to change. Hundreds of thousands of Model 3 owners seem to have been managing just fine with the minimalist interior and single screen, so why couldn't I?
But practically speaking, I am not in the market for a car, and can wait to see what actually happens. As a retiree, I am in no hurry to splurge on a newer car. (God forbid my car should be totaled in a crash!)
Perhaps most important, the article could be wrong on any number of details. So I will try to wait and see....

The used market would likely satisfy you in your vehicle gets totaled. Plenty of S there.

 

[Blu Angel]

I certainly applaud Tesla's decision to produce the new Tesla Y at the Fremont factory

I had the great privilege of visiting & touring the former NUMMI plant that Tesla picked up for pennies on Friday April 26
FREE TOURS to all Tesla owners available with a simple email request & your VIN #
Tours are run 3 times a daily & 3 days a week
[email protected]

(I don't recall the purchase price Tesla bought it for but it was approximately a few Million bucks)
Please chime in if anyone knows the answer

Anyways, after flying 15 hours from Sydney, Australia to San Francisco, CA, we touched down @ 7:00 am
Promptly picked up my bags, my rental car & headed out to San Mateo to my brothers home.
Got some shut eye and had a super 45 min drive to Fremont.

It's really surprising to first set eyes on this immense Tesla factory at 45500 Fremont Blvd
It's 5 million square feet and mighty impressive!

The Tesla tour (1 hour) went off without a hitch.
The electric train holds approximately 20 Tesla enthusiasts and the Tesla spokesperson was very
knowledgeable.
The place is super clean, very quiet, very tall and full of robots!
The Tesla technicians are super friendly and it's a blast watching hing the robots do their thing!
Below are the famous X-Men robots named Iceman & Wolverine

To summarize this long winded message, it was very obvious to myself that
the Tesla Y should be built at Fremont.
So, if you're ever in th San Francisco area, be sure to book the factory tour.
Tesla recommends at least a 4 week advance reservation

 

[Blu Angel]

I certainly applaud Tesla's decision to produce the new Tesla Y at the Fremont factory

I had the great privilege of visiting & touring the former NUMMI plant that Tesla picked up for pennies on Friday April 26
FREE TOURS to all Tesla owners available with a simple email request & your VIN #
Tours are run 3 times a daily & 3 days a week
[email protected]

(I don't recall the purchase price Tesla bought it for but it was approximately a few Million bucks)
Please chime in if anyone knows the answer

Anyways, after flying 15 hours from Sydney, Australia to San Francisco, CA, we touched down @ 7:00 am
Promptly picked up my bags, my rental car & headed out to San Mateo to my brothers home.
Got some shut eye and had a super 45 min drive to Fremont.

It's really surprising to first set eyes on this immense Tesla factory at 45500 Fremont Blvd
It's 5 million square feet and mighty impressive!

The Tesla tour (1 hour) went off without a hitch.
The electric train holds approximately 20 Tesla enthusiasts and the Tesla spokesperson was very
knowledgeable.
The place is super clean, very quiet, very tall and full of robots!
The Tesla technicians are super friendly and it's a blast watching hing the robots do their thing!
Below are the famous X-Men robots named Iceman & Wolverine

To summarize this long winded message, it was very obvious to myself that
the Tesla Y should be built at Fremont.
So, if you're ever in th San Francisco area, be sure to book the factory tour.
Tesla recommends at least a 4 week advance reservation

 

[iRia]

Losing the instrument cluster would be bad!!! I can't stomach the single tablet display in the model 3.

If they do this to the S and X I might as well just save my money and get a model Y.

 

[Magellan55]

Glad I got my S. The instrument panel and well-integrated screen (rather than mushrooming out of the dash) are one of the main reasons I cancelled my Model 3 order and switched to an S.

Will be interesting to see if this announcement causes an uptick or down tick in orders of the current model S.

 

[tomas]

Wah Wah!!! Single screen is great. Get with the future! After driving my 3 for 5 months I’m back to the S. Miss my single screen.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Wah Wah!!! Single screen is great. Get with the future! After driving my 3 for 5 months I’m back to the S. Miss my single screen.

It protruding out of your dash like a mushroom doesn’t bother you?

 

[sandpiper]

I was a bit skeptical of the single screen idea at first. But I'm warming to it. If you think about it, driver's consoles are holdovers from the days when you needed a lot of information as a driver. The engines and systems were complex, unreliable and you needed to know what was happening before it led to a seized engine or something similar.

On an EV, what do you really need to know right now? Speed, arguably remaining range but nothing much else. Yes you want nav, audio, vehicle settings, fault information and such - but it's nicer to go to the large center console for that anyway. In my mind, it's probably brilliant to kill the driver console paradigm and provide a better view of the road ahead.

I'm definitely willing to give it a chance. And I predict that all cars will be like that in 20 years.

 

[tomas]

Here’s my take: 3 screen vs S screen and IC. And I have both cars.

I liked S setup for 5 years before I got 3. I also was uncomfortable with 3 setup at first. However, after my first extended use of 3 (5 months), I’m now back in the S and I find that the positioning and orientation of the S screen is poor compared to 3. Sure it is bigger and you have supplemental IC. But you simply cannot use the bottom half of S screen without taking eyes off the road. And you can use the whole 3 screen. Plus, with V9, almost all controls are initiated at the bottom of the screen. A design that suits 3 better than the S. Even if Tesla were to restore a better suited UI to S, I’d still prefer 3 layout. But, given the reality that Tesla is going to have a single UI, it would be silly to retain vertical, recessed screen in updated S.

It’s astounding to me that people who were open minded and forward thinking enough to pioneer EVs are so set in their ways regarding screen location. Try it, it’s fine. And, given where Tesla is clearly going with UI... far preferable. Smoke that mushroom!!

 

[Magellan55]

I'm sure it's easy to get used to. I sat in a 3 in a show room multiple times (this was before they were giving test drives) and really wanted to make it work, as the 3 was the perfect size for me and the price was more in line with what I typically pay for cars. And early reviews from former MS owners said it was an easy transition. But in the end, it reminded me too much of the screens sticking up out of the dash of equivalent BMW, Audi, and MB ICE vehicles, which I always felt were tacked on as afterthoughts. I almost cried when they first revealed the dash on the 3 - "oh no - they are copying the Germans but on overdrive!"

So yeah a lot of my reaction is just aesthetics. But your dash is the thing you spend all your time seeing while you drive.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I was a bit skeptical of the single screen idea at first. But I'm warming to it. If you think about it, driver's consoles are holdovers from the days when you needed a lot of information as a driver. The engines and systems were complex, unreliable and you needed to know what was happening before it led to a seized engine or something similar.

On an EV, what do you really need to know right now? Speed, arguably remaining range but nothing much else. Yes you want nav, audio, vehicle settings, fault information and such - but it's nicer to go to the large center console for that anyway. In my mind, it's probably brilliant to kill the driver console paradigm and provide a better view of the road ahead.

I'm definitely willing to give it a chance. And I predict that all cars will be like that in 20 years.

The primary issue with mass adoption is your first sentence. That's the view point of just about anyone I've talked to that isn't a diehard Tesla fanboi. When I ask people if they've ever been in one the ones who say "yes" usually follow that response up with something along the lines of "I hated the inside because it was so plain and the screen in the middle looks like someone just glued a tablet on the dash" which is off-putting to a lot of people.

Most of these same people don't even realize there are different models of Teslas and that one of them is more of a traditional dash layout like they're used to. They just go on to tell everyone their personal experience with a Tesla.

Much like the "refresh" was actually the first design but they added the nose cone to early Model S because focus groups weren't keen on the design they need to keep the Model S/X the way it is currently laid out to have different options. The Model 3/Y appeals to younger people while the Model S/X is more of the older generation car kind of like other manufacturers do with their lower priced models.

Model 3 was all about cutting costs and a second display adds a lot of cost to an otherwise inexpensive car. I personally believe they'll keep the 2nd gauge display for all of the reasons I mentioned above. This idea that they're just going to make every vehicle exactly the same as the Model 3 moving forward is kind of silly.

 

[Hank42]

The 3's center screen was a nice "Experiment" but for a DRIVER it is a complete dismal failure.
There's a lot of information that is shared with the driver these days - lane departure warnings, other vehicles, obstacles in the path etc. This is all great when presented in the field of view of the driver. On my S, It's right there in front of me - within lower peripheral vision and easy to digest. On my 3, unless I am starting at the screen (when I should be driving), I won't know about any of that information unless the car beeps, or buzzes or vibrates or I get hit on the head by my passenger, who is looking at the screen.
Lots of great information, too bad it's out of sight from the person who needs it most - the driver!

The 3 NEEDS a HUD, and if they remove the 2nd console in the upcoming S, it'll NEED a HUD as well.

Of course, all is moot if the ultimate intention is to remove the driver completely - something Tesla is on record for doing in the road-map.