Tesla's upcoming electric minibus to be based on Model X chassis, confirms Elon Musk

Remember the iconic VW minivan that was so evocative of the free-spirited 60s? Tesla head honcho Elon Musk confirms that the company will be producing a similar vehicle, albeit based on an electric powertrain that the company has become wildly famous for.

When Elon Musk revealed his ‘Master plan, part deux’ last month, it outlined numerous areas that the visionary CEO is focused on driving in the next decade, one of which is the field of “high passenger-density urban transport”. A few days ago, Musk revealed more details about this upcoming vehicle class in a Tweet, stating that it would be based a minibus based on their Model X SUV chassis.

Some good guessing by @Jalopnik. The Tesla Minibus will be built on a Model X chassis. People density potential is surprisingly high.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2016

He also revealed that this upcoming Tesla vehicle would be reminiscent of the classic VW minivan that made the vehicle format so famous half a century ago.

@danahull It's inspired by some of the California Custom VW combi design art

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2016

According to his masterplan, the minibus should be ready for unveiling next year along with a line of the company’s upcoming heavy-duty transport trucks, also electric.

Interestingly, this Tesla minibus is slated to to be part of a plan to launch a fleet of autonomous transport systems that are managed by a central system, and may not be actual commercial vehicles aimed at end consumer purchase.

The answers to these questions are still up in the air though, and true to Tesla form will only be revealed when the time comes. But more information likely to trickle out--stay tuned as we bring it to you as it happens.