Musk confirms Model 3-based Model Y SUV, Model X-based van

Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] CEO Elon Musk has fleshed out some of the plans he alluded to in his overarching “master plan” announced on July 20.

In the original post on Tesla’s blog, Musk made mention of Tesla’s long-term goal to expand into more segments including those of pickup trucks and other commercial vehicles.

Responding to some messages on Twitter last week, Musk confirmed that a new SUV spun off the platform of the upcoming Model 3 would be called a Model Y. Plans for the SUV were first announced in 2012 in a presentation slide shown to investors (above), though this is the first time Musk has confirmed the name of the vehicle.

The Tesla CEO also revealed plans for a new model to be spun off the Model X’s platform, which he referred to as a bus. This is likely a minivan of some sort though it could be an even larger model akin to a minibus.

And in a separate conversation, after being prompted about a vehicle similar to the Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] Transit van sold overseas, Musk replied that building such a vehicle based on Tesla's proposed pickup truck platform “probably made sense.”

But there’s a long road ahead for Tesla before any of these models can be launched. The automaker still needs to ramp up capacity and its Gigafactory battery plant and get production of the Model 3 up and running. The small electric sedan is due to start delivery in late 2017 and has already racked up hundreds of thousands of pre-orders.

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