GM Is Benchmarking The Tesla Model Y Crossover
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General Motors is looking to ramp up its all-electric vehicle efforts with now less than 30 new EV models launched globally by 2025. Of course, in order to succeed in the EV segment, GM will need to compete with Tesla, and to that end, The General is benchmarking Tesla’s various offerings, including the Tesla Model Y crossover, as seen in the following GM Authority spy photos.
GM Authority spy photographers recently caught this Tesla Model Y undergoing GM benchmarking, as easily identified by the small stickers located on each end of the rear bumper.
With regard to sizing and segment, the Tesla Model Y would most naturally compete with the Chevy Equinox EV and Chevy Blazer EV, while in terms of pricing, the Model Y competes with the Cadillac Lyriq.
For reference, the Tesla Model Y has a wheelbase that’s 113.8 inches long, an overall length of 187 inches, a width of 75.6 inches, and a height of 63.9 inches. Two trim levels are available for the 2022 model year, including the Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD and the Tesla Model Y Performance AWD. Maximum range-per-charge for the former is 318 miles, while maximum range-per-charge for the latter is 303 miles. The Long Range trim is also offered with a 0-to-60 mph time of 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 135 mph, while the Performance trim will hit those benchmarks with a 0-to-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph.
Naturally, General Motors has been busy testing the rest of the Tesla lineup as well, including the high-performance Tesla Model S Plaid, as well as the larger Tesla Model X crossover. The General has also been busy exploring Tesla’s tech offerings, such as the Summon feature as equipped by a Tesla Model 3 sedan.
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GM should concentrate on benchmarking the following areas from Tesla.
Materials used to have amazing Curb Weight as a Dual Motor M3 weight 90 lbs more than a BMW 340iX (Insane)
How they can be so efficient with offering insane amounts of storage both front and back and underneath the back.
Their Almost Magical Motors
How they utilize EV Specific hardware for better packaging and efficiency.
Glad to see that GM is Finally taking the EV leader seriously. Lets go GM and I cannot wait to see what the Nox and Blazer SS have in store. I am extremely hopeful for Frunks though. I use mine religiously.
I have never seem GM so serious about anything about EV’s. If they really want to, they can easily take over Tesla as the leader and I think they will.
Why?
I don’t know anyone who wants one? Who will buy all of these GM EV’s????
There are 330 million people living in the States alone, there’s bound to be 1 human outside of your bubble that wants a GM EV.
Just back from Wy. and never saw an EV on the road but then again only. “City nurds” are afraid to go out of the city where the fresh air is. The wild animals would love to see them with the EV cord looking for a power outlet. Cowboys can use a good laugh when the trot by on their horse.
The air isn’t so fresh out there anymore, especially during fire season, which seems to be an all-year thing now.
Do the animals and cowboys also laugh when they see an ICE vehicle that ran out of gas? Given that the afore-mentioned wildfires are to at least some extent the result of ICE waste products, one would think neither animal nor cowboy would prefer one type of vehicle over another….
Don’t bother with people on here. They also forget that gasoline doesn’t come out of thin air. Forget about the subsidies oil companies receive from governments globally, and also use that exact argument against EVs. Peddling ‘The Grid can’t handle charging all these EV’s’ or, ‘batteries are more toxic than the Exploration, Drilling, Transporting, Refining, and then the Dispensing of Gasoline. And all that’s BEFORE it gets burned from an ICE. Which only utilizes 1/5th (20%) of gasolines full energy potential, while the rest is lost to heat loss.
Well, the Nissan variable-compression engine can get almost 50% thermal efficiency. Woohoo!
Took a trip to Wyoming last year at this time. Got to get plenty of that fresh air with my EV. Traveled thru Montana Colorado and South Dakota as well. Tough for those snowflake cowboys to catch up with me to laugh. Great time now that electricity has reached them parts.
They should benchmark Tesla for design too. The Model S has now been out for ten years and is aging well. Its clean, elegantly sculpted and proportioned shape is even more attractive than at launch. For a brand with no heritage and no history to draw from, they managed with the Model S to create a form that quickly became quite recognizable for what it is and established a look for their future offerings.
In a world with few sedans and even fewer that look good, the Model S has stood out for ten years. It’s powertrain obviously was groundbreaking but I don’t think its outstanding form should be overlooked as it’s also been a big part of the product’s success. Beauty will always sell.
I wish Cadillac would’ve endeavored to create a more dignified and enduring Model S-like design for their Lyriq. The Tesla actually reminds me of the purity of form of 1970 F-body or of Mazda’s ‘93 to ‘97 MX-6. They’re both clean shapes but carefully chiseled. Unfortunately the Cadillac is not.
Styling is not one of Tesla’s strong points. From the S to the Y Every new model introduction has gotten uglier, with the Y being borderline hideous, especially in white. The Y front end looks smashed and flat, the hood is too low and the rear looks like a hunchback. The S is and was the best looking, but it looks too much like a 90’s Dodge Intrepid. The Lucid Air is far better looking than the model S. Other EV startups have better looking vehicles than Tesla. Lucid and Fisker are great looking and so is Rivian with the obvious exception of their hideous oval headlights.
In Los Angeles Teslas are the most boring cars to look at because there are so many of them. Tesla has taken over the equally boring Prius as a car you do not look twice at. If GM, or any other manufacturer built cars with the same fit and finish of Tesla, the automotive press would have a field day with its criticism. Other manufacturers need to tap into how/why Tesla gets away with its piss poor build quality.
I will take a sea of Fremont built Teslas any day over a glut of Priuses and imports. Apparently, build quality isn’t a significant enough issue to keep the typically non-patriotic import-loyal California buyers away from Tesla. Is that a bad thing?
Tesla “gets away with it” because people buy Teslas. People with MONEY buy Teslas. Tesla benefits the local economy. Would you rather they send that money overseas?
I have plenty of money. I only drive American Iron. Have a 2029 F-150 Shelby a 2005 Chevy SSR 6 speed and a new Corvette all built in this country. I will not waste my hard earned money on a Tesla ‘because everyone else does”. Tesla needs to be held to a higher standard just as GM and Ford are.
That’s good for you. And thanks for buying American. But I wouldn’t begrudge others who buy Teslas. This is a rare case of significant numbers of Californians buying American and should be lauded.
These people can buy whatever they want and choose to keep fellow Americans working in the very production jobs their Saint Obama said were never coming back. Apparently the build quality isn’t actually that bad. I’ve been around plenty and they look like fine cars to me.
Just looked up your splashy Shelby monstertruck – didn’t even know those existed!
I think my ’94 F150 Lightning is far truer to the Shelby ideal, but hey flaunt it if ya got it, right? 🤣
Let me clear I applaud people that buy American, Tesla or otherwise. I just think Tesla has been given a pass on their quality. My Shelby is the rarer lowered truck with 22in wheels a 3.0 liter Whipple Supercharger, putting 775 hp to the crank. I is also 4wd and awd allowing the driver to launch like a bat it of hell. I have personally smoked two RAM TRX’s. My truck is not mph limited. Have had it up to 150 and she had more in her.
Didn’t buy our American made Tesla because others did, bought because we love how the car drives, performs, rides along with not needing gas, starting each day with a full battery and a bit of satisfaction we get for doing a little for the environment. All driving a car we really enjoy.
With all this said, I love Corvettes, have owned several. Really like your SSR, especially with a manual transmission and really wish GM all the best. Heck, I own GM stock. Best of luck to you.
Tesla loses money on every car; government and state subsidies and hedge funds keep the cash and stock high. GM will also lose money on EVs but can make it up with large profits on trucks and SUVs. Tesla doesn’t have a car/ truck yet in that market, and that is what the United States wants, not cars and crossovers. It will be interesting, I would bet on GM.
TESLA has achieved 33% GAAP profitability on average for each car manufactured and sold. Where the f*** are you getting that info, and when was it last updated?
Cite your sources.
Tesla cash flow is quite positive and there is zero debt despite building two new factories with 30% margins (profit – highest in the business > Toyota) on its vehicles, plus state mandated credits (e.g., CA) paid by legacy auto that don’t sell enough BEVs to offset ICE MPG (same rules for everyone). They are the most vertically integrated automaker making their own batteries in addition to having 5 major suppliers. GM and the rest of legacy auto is so far behind and scrambling to acquire/produce batteries at a premium, therefore they will be severely limited in mass production losing money on their BEVs. Most legacy auto will go bankrupt by 2030 as more and more countries/states mandate EVs (e.g., WA by 2030). They are all saddled with heavy debt and obsolete factories and equipment. Chinese BEVs are coming soon (Polestar is already here, BYD is second only to Tesla) which will expedite disruption. Tesla will sell between 1.5-2M cars worldwide this year which will at least double in 2023. In a short span, Mary Barra has managed GMs decline from 10M to 6M cars sold worldwide, so forgive my lack of faith. I own a new ZR2 diesel I will drive till it dies and a 2013 Volt that I’m replacing with a Texas built Model Y and have been a GM loyalist since my first car (over 10 new GM vehicles including a 2007 HUMMER H3), but my confidence in GM succeeding is quite low – sad to say, too little too late. Silverado EV is an amazing truck and GMs best hope, but they will be constrained to producing well under 30k a year as limited battery resources will be split amongst 30 different vehicles. And yes the $30k Equinox will see limited production and will absolutely lose money – not a viable long term business model.
GM with it’s long history of building vehicles can and will overtake Tesla. Tesla got where it is because GM never took EV’s seriously although they were first in many aspect of it. But, now GM is dead serious and will easily overtake the overhype Tesla. Sorry fan boys, but this will happen.
Again, to what end? Most GM customers want ICE’s.
I’m a Tesla owner and GM stock holder. While we really, really like our Tesla I also believe GM is headed in the right direction. EV’s are the future. It’s not if, it’s when. Not putting gas/diesel vehicles down. GM realizes that oil is a finite resource, will become harder to find and extract, often comes from unfriendly countries and effects our planet and climate in a negative way.
One of my top concerns with GM is the dealer network. Tesla’s success is driven in part by how they sell vehicles. It’s wonderful. The price you see on the Tesla web site is the price you pay. No haggling, no dealer packs, a straight forward simple process without car salesmen. Speaking from personal experience, it’s great.
I’m buying and holding GM stock for at least 4 years. It’s my bet that I’ll be rewarded. Who knows, my GM stock investment might buy us a GM electric vehicle.
Yes you will be rewarded with 33.00 a share. Wells Fargo just downgraded it from 77 to 33. So hang on to it. There is plenty of oil if Brandon would let people drill for it. One reason to not buy a GM EV is the LG battery. Ever owned an LG appliance? Poor quality tv’s washers and dryers. Gm will not catch Tesla. The Cyber truck has over 1 million deposits!
That Tesla looks to be going solo, or is it just an individual doing a McDonald’s run? I mean, I see no prototype around it.
Why oh Y?
If California is accurately depicted as the trendsetter for the nation, Tesla is definitely the shape of things to come. They are ubiquitous here and it’s a good thing because without them, there would essentially be no American cars on California roads.
Either fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you see it, wealthy California metros are not an accurate barometer for buying trends outside of these areas. Your typical Tesla is still a luxury item and the greater percentage of Americans do not earn enough in an increasingly less evenly spread out “service economy” to be able to afford a Tesla (and most other evs). Until manufacturers produce models priced for the common people, evs will remain symbols of America’s vast economic divide and continue to earn scorn from the greater percentage of Americans less privileged who are relegated to the outside looking in.
Tesla’s currently hold approximately 90% of their values. GM’s are lucky to hold 50%. I’ll stick with Tesla!!
Lucid Air’s motors and efficiency are far superior to Tesla’s and GM should consider benchmarking Lucid’s EV.
That’s assuming of course the Lucid is a viable future concern. Did you not see the recent drastic reductions in their full year production forecast? From 20,000 down to 6000-7000 (if they are lucky) As Elon has said, prototypes are easy, but production is hard. Thousands of times harder. They are burning massive amounts of cash right now. Their viability as an ongoing concern quite frankly, is in question. But go ahead and “benchmark”. Quite frankly, I find the idea of benchmarking symptomatic of the lack of innovation in the legacy ICE OEMs. A Model 3 Telsa produced last year may look the same as one that just rolled off the production floor, but inside and under the covers, they may be very different. The rate of constant iteration and innovation inside of one model year is a strategic competitive advantage that Tesla and some of the other EV players have over legacy OEMs. Tesla is an innovation, iterative agile culture that can iterate on the fly; OEM’s cannot. So “benchmarking” is simply looking at a moment in time in the past, and nowhere at all reflective of future enhancements that Tesla has the capability of implementing easily without having to re-tool their line. And it is because they have completely re-imagined and reinvented how vehicles are manufactured, (die cast Gigapress) that I see the OEM’s not ever being able to catch Tesla. They are simply moving too fast. And because manufacturing an EV is completely different from that of an ICE vehicle, that the perceived advantages of the OEMs will in fact, be a millstone around their necks as their ICE plants become obsolete, and will cost them billions to 1) service their debt/ write down, and 2) build new EV specific lines. Good luck with all of that.