There’s been a lot of talk about Tesla’s upcoming product unveiling next week and speculation is growing that the electric car maker is preparing to debut a new model, specifically the Model Y. While there’s still no confirmation from Tesla about which product it plans to unveil, the sentiment is that it’s going to be the small crossover that will officially kickstart the company’s second “Master Plan” vision that CEO Elon Musk outlined back in July 2016.

The unexpected launch of the Model Y would certainly come as a surprise, but it isn’t too much of a shock given that Tesla has already confirmed plans to build it at some point. Details are still scarce surrounding the crossover but it is expected to be based on the Model 3’s architecture and will carry some styling similarities with the bigger Model X, minus the latter’s controversial falcon doors.

Other than these bits and pieces of rumored details, Tesla has plenty of information to share next week about the crossover, if it does end up being the subject of the company’s hastily organized (or is it?) product launch. That said, it’s also possible that the company could go a totally different direction and possibly reveal more information about the Model 3, or it could launch a new hardware version of its Autopilot system.

Whatever the case may be, there’s going to be a lot of people who’ll be keeping tabs on the product launch as it happens. That includes us, of course.

Note: Tesla Model X shown above.

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Don't sleep on the Model Y's debut as a possibility

When news first broke that Tesla was going to have this “unexpected” product launch, I thought of the possible scenarios that could be in play regarding what Tesla was planning to launch. I mentioned the Model 3, the Autopilot system, and something completely out of the blue. Well, consider the launch of the Model Y as something that fits into that “out of the blue” category.

It’s not that I didn’t think Tesla would launch the Model Y; it’s that I didn’t think it would happen this soon, at least not when we’re still starved for information surrounding the Model 3. You would think that if Tesla was going to hold a significant launch, it’d be for its next model in the pipeline, not the model that starts its second-phase manifesto.

Either way, I’m not going to complain. If it ends up being the Model 3, then that’s great. If it’s the Model Y, that’s great too. At this point, it’d be nice to talk about Tesla in such a way that we’re not talking about another crash involving its Autopilot system or whatever piece of negative publicity it’s involved in these days. A product launch for a new model is at least a good way to remind us that whatever controversies the automaker is involved in these days, it’s still pushing forward with its long-term business plans.

Read our review on the Tesla Model X here, the Model S here, and the Model 3 here.