Tesla’s New Model Y Crossover Unveiled To ‘Underwhelming’ Response

Following the unveiling of the anticipated Model Y crossover vehicle from Tesla (TSLA), the company’s stocks took a nosedive Friday morning. The vehicle was reportedly “underwhelming” to Wall Street analysts that expected more out of the introduction.

Tesla stock fell about 4 percent in early morning trading, adding to the decline the shares have already recently seen. Tesla shares have lost $7.4 billion in market value in 2019, CNBC reported.

Tesla entered the SUV market with its Model Y electric vehicle offering as it deals with more competition in the electric vehicle segment and pressure to increase profits while lowering prices, CNBC reported.

"It's wild to think about, 11 years ago today we'd made literally one car. And a year from now we'll have made a million," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said.

With a price tag of $39,000 to $60,000, the Model Y is 10 percent larger than Tesla’s Model 3 midsize sedan with seven seats, panoramic glass roof, and 66 cubic feet of cargo space, according to Musk. A prototype of the vehicle was unveiled at the Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California, on Thursday.

During the company’s shareholder meeting in June, Musk stated the first deliveries of the Model Y would be slated to begin in the first half of 2020 followed by higher priced models in fall 2020 and spring 2021 for the $39,000 version.

According to the research note of Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, the Model Y could give Tesla a significant advantage. He said the market for crossovers is “massive,” which could allow the Model Y to make up 15 to 20 percent of the company’s overall unit sales.

Shares of Tesla stock were down 4.87 percent as of 2:33 p.m. EST on Friday.