2029 Tesla Mystery Minivan: What We KnowAndrei Avarvarii - MotorTrendWhat It IsIn response to a post on X from a brand fan urging Tesla to make a minivan, company boss Elon Musk replied, "Something way cooler than a minivan is coming." Now what could that mean? With Musk, anything (or nothing) could happen, so we let our imagination run wild here and conjured up a retro-futuristic vehicle that wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi film. You know, like Tesla's pickup truck.Why It MattersTen years ago, in what it called "Master Plan, Part Deux," Tesla identified heavy-duty trucks and "high passenger-density urban transport" as two categories primed for electrification. The Tesla Semi is already on the road, though not yet in full production. As for the latter, it seems the plan describes a big minivan—but cooler, of course. Way cooler.Andrei Avarvarii - MotorTrendPlatform and PowertrainWe figured Tesla would go big (high passenger density, right?) and that, with the company's heavy bet on Full Self Driving, the resulting vehicle would be a literal living room on wheels. We envisioned a big box with large, welcoming doors on either side and a sloped nose that draws inspiration from the Tesla Semi—the electrical hardware must go somewhere. And we went way retro-futuristic on our design, because goodness knows when such a Tesla might actually appear or, given the path of the Model S, X, 3, and Y, how long it will remain in production with no substantial styling updates.AdvertisementAdvertisementWe expect windows that will go well into the roofline, but there's a limit to how much daylight Tesla will want to shine in, as it's likely the van would serve as a mobile entertainment center. After all, what better way to while away the largely uninteresting drive between Los Angeles and Las Vegas than by streaming Musk's favorite movie, the original Star Wars? And let's be honest, even for a short ride, we'd rather be in this palace on wheels than a little two-door Cybercab.Even if Tesla doesn't get into the way-cooler-than-a-minivan business, that doesn't mean vans—specifically electric ones—aren't about to get a lot better. We've had our first drive in the Mercedes VLE-Class, an executive (or family) transport with lots of seating configuration options and an optional massive movie screen, and that's not even as nice as Mercedes vans will get. The German brand plans a bigger, better VLS electric van that will also sprout a Maybach version. On the internal combustion side, Ram is bringing back a bigger ProMaster City, and is a luxo-transport version entirely out of the question? Maybe not.Estimated Price: No ideaExpected On-Sale Date: 2029 or later
