Elon Musk has let out a few details regarding the Model Y at Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call earlier this week. According to The Drive, Musk recently approved the production of a prototype of the Model Y, and that the company is targeting volume production in 2020. There's no word on an official debut, however, previous tweets indicate "late this year to mid next year."

The Model Y Could Debut in Early 2019, Enter Production in 2020

As reported by Reuters, Tesla was planning for the Model Y's production to begin in the fourth-quarter of 2019. However, Musk cleared the air and said that the company is aiming for volume production to begin a bit later, and not in 2019. Musk announced that he approved the Model Y’s prototype to enter production, which means that Tesla is doing the final cuts and stitches before officially announcing the car. Replying to his own tweet earlier this year, Musk said that Model Y will be revealed sometime between late this year and mid-next year. So, the CEO estimated to be around March 15.

’Y’ Did Tesla Take So Long To Begin?

Apparently, Model Y‘s production had not yet begun because Tesla was not starting new vehicle production in order to achieve GAAP profitability. Talking about other projects, Musk said that Tesla has made significant progress on the Semi and next-generation Roadster before talking about the progress of Tesla's upcoming pickup truck, which Musk thinks is going to be "some next level stuff."

The Tesla Model Y May be Built in China

There’s no word on where the Model Y will be built, but there is a possibility of it sharing the assembly line with the Model 3 in the automaker’s Fremont factory since both the cars will share the same platform. Though the space for expansion exists, this may be given priority to another general assembly line for the Model 3 in order to meet demand.

As per another study by Reuters, Tesla might start manufacturing the Model Y in its new Gigafactory in China. Apart from the Model Y, Tesla will also plan for an initial capacity of 5,000 Model 3s per week in addition to what is produced at the Fremont facility. Tesla signed the dotted lines with the Chinese government to build its Gigafactory in eastern Shanghai province. The facility will be built on a 534-square-mile plot of land, and the cost is estimated to be around $2 billion.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2020 Tesla Model Y.

Read our full review on the 2017 Tesla Model X.

Read our full review on the 2018 Tesla Model 3.