Elon Musk Showcases Tesla Model Y, Roadster At Shareholder Meeting

Show stealers at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in Mountain View, California on Tuesday were three Tesla electric vehicles all sporting fiery red paint jobs: the Tesla Model Y, the new Tesla Roadster and the Tesla Semi.

The presence of these vehicles -- the newest in the Tesla lineup -- lit-up social media sites and kept on trending with thousands of posts and pics. The center of smartphone attention was the new Model Y, which was making its first public appearance since being unveiled by Tesla CEO Elon Musk at an event last March 14.

Analysts said the Model Y at the shareholders meeting appears to be a driveable prototype unlike the white colored prototype revealed by Musk, which was basically only a shell.

A compact crossover SUV, the 5-door, seven-seater Model Y is scheduled for delivery starting late 2020. It’s Tesla's second electric vehicle (EV) using Tesla’s tier 3 mass market vehicle platform.

The Model Y will come in four versions: Standard Range ($39,000), Long Range ($48,000), Long Range with Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive ($52,000) and Performance ($61,000).

U.S. deliveries for the Model Y will start in late 2020 for the Long Range, Dual Motor, and Performance versions. Deliveries for the Standard Range version will start in early 2021.

The new Tesla Roadster is the successor to Tesla's first production car, the 2008 Roadster. It’s a 2+2 coupé with a removable glass roof. The Roadster’s 2+2 seating arrangements means it has smaller rear seats for two passengers.

It’s powered by three electric motors: one up front and two at the rear. The motors enable all-wheel drive, and torque vectoring during cornering. The Tesla Roadster will be powered by a 200 kWh (720 MJ) battery, giving it a range of 1,000 km (620 miles) on one charge at highway speeds. The sports car’s rear wheels are larger than the front wheels.

The base model is expected to retail for $200,000. The first 1,000 to be produced, the so-called Founder's Series, will cost $250,000 apiece.

Tesla Roadster sales will begin in 2020 but not before the Tesla Model Y goes on sale, said Musk.