Tesla preparing Gigafactory to build Model Y

It will share 75% of its parts with the Model 3.

Tesla is gearing up to manufacture the Model Y crossover at its Gigafactory on the outskirts of Reno, Nevada.

Speaking during a conference call, company co-founder and CEO Elon Musk announced Tesla is currently creating the tooling it will use to build the Model Y. Wired learned the Model Y will share about 75 percent of its parts with the Model 3, but the two cars will be assembled in different factories. Tesla makes the 3 in its Fremont, California, facility using battery packs sourced from the Gigafactory.

Using existing parts should help Tesla ramp up Model Y production smoothly and quickly; mass-producing the Model 3 was anything but. The crossover will make its debut in the coming months, but it may not reach volume production until the end of 2020. While pricing hasn't been announced yet, it's reasonable to assume buyers will be able to reserve the Y by sending the company a refundable deposit. Tesla will begin taking orders during the model's unveiling.

In January 2019, an unconfirmed report claimed the Model Y will come exclusively with all-wheel drive. It will offer at least 250 miles of driving range, and it could boast level four autonomous capabilities thanks to a Tesla-designed radar system and more cameras. Tesla hasn't confirmed this information, and it hasn't shed much insight into what we can expect from its second crossover.

Musk and his team are betting big on the Model Y. They predict between 50 and 100 percent more demand for the crossover than for the Model 3, which Tesla claimed was the best-selling premium car in 2018. Crossovers easily outsell sedans in the United States, so this estimate may not be wide of the mark.