Analysts and Media Unimpressed with Tesla’s Model Y ‘SUV’

Elon Musk’s Tesla unveiled their new Model Y SUV recently, the first look at the new electric car left many unimpressed with the supposed SUV which looked almost identical to the company’s current Model 3 sedan.

Tesla unveiled its new Model Y SUV at a recent event at Tesla’s design studio outside Los Angeles in California. For many, the event was underwhelming for one primary reason — many felt they had seen this exact unveiling before with the Model 3 sedan. The Verge commented on the unveiling of the Model Y crossover SUV stating: “The reaction was slightly less enthusiastic than it was three years prior when the Model 3 sedan was revealed. And that’s because we’ve seen this car before: the Model Y is almost exactly like the Model 3, just a little bigger.”

As can be seen in the photos below, the average consumer would be hard pressed to point out the differences between the Model Y and Model 3:

$TSLA – 1/ Elon, How are you going to fund all these changes for the PT Cruiser…er I mean the Model Y?

We know you don't have money for all these changes.

If the picture below is similar to the vehicle that rolled out at the reveal, it's going to cost a lot! H/T @Valuetrap13 pic.twitter.com/Gy4OM6HdHn

— phoenix10 (smartish) (@phoennix10) March 15, 2019

Musk advertised the car stating: “It has the functionality of an SUV, but it will ride like a sports car,” Musk said. “So this thing will be really tight on corners.” But public reaction to the car was not particularly excited. Musk stated that the Model Y will use 75 percent of the same parts as Tesla’s low-cost Model 3, which makes the Model Y “likely to cannibalize the Model 3,” according to Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. Given Tesla’s attempt to boost Model 3 sales with a recently announced $35,000 version, that may not be a good thing.

Many analysts were not impressed by the unveiling, Deutsche Bank’s Emmanuel Rosner said in a note: “Overall, we found the event somewhat underwhelming with no major surprises.” Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne stated that the “Model Y reveal underwhelmed us,” adding that “the night held no surprises.” Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi said that the reveal still left concerns about the company’s manufacturing timeline: “We remain concerned about the manufacturing timeline… Last night’s unveiling essentially reaffirmed Tesla’s target of ‘volume’ production by the end of 2020.”

Goldman Sachs gave Tesla stock a sell rating, writing in a note:

With the Model Y vehicle only priced at a $4k premium to the Model 3, we think investor focus will hone in on potential cannibalization of already waning Model 3 demand and the company delivering on margins as it moves to larger scale production. And with no incremental products unveiled (like the pickup truck the company is working on or a potential refresh of the S/X) and no further commentary on Model 3 demand (which investors have been looking for), we think shares could see pressure in trading today. … we estimate the company is likely to see between 200k and 400k orders (in totality) for the product given consumer preferences for utility vehicles vs. sedans.

Cowen commented on the Model Y in an investors note stating:

Tesla’s Model Y reveal underwhelmed us … The night held no surprises – no S/X refresh, no new software, and no details on 1Q19 … We believe investors will leave the Model Y launch with a neutral to negative outlook on the Tesla story for multiple reasons … We believe the event was more of a capital raising effort and branding exercise. We do not see the new Model Y igniting elevated demand or enthusiasm for the Tesla brand … There was no refresh of the S/X platform … There was no “one more thing” – nothing incremental to get the Tesla bulls excited.

Tesla stock is down by nearly five percent at a price of $275.75 at the time of the writing of this article.