— Tesla’s stock enjoyed its biggest spike in six years this week after the automaker reported an unexpected third quarter profit. But that might not have been the biggest achievement for the company. What could end up being far more important is that the Model Y, the electric car company’s lower priced SUV, is now due to go into production by next summer. It had previously been projecting to start production in the fall of 2020. “There may be some room for improvement there, but we’re confident about summer 2020,” said CEO Elon Musk about the company’s new time frame. If that doesn’t seem like that big of a change, keep in mind two facts about Tesla (TSLA) and the Model Y. First, the company’s track record of meeting internal deadlines for rolling out new cars has been particularly bad. At times, it has been years late in delivering promised production of new vehicles. Moving a deadline up, not back, is big news at Tesla. The Tesla Model Y, now due to be available next summer. Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images And second, the Model Y is by far the most important vehicle Tesla has planned so far. Tesla has basically been depending on the sedans – the Model S and Model 3 – for the overwhelming majority of its sales. But US car buyers have been moving away from sedans at top speed – and towards SUVs. “It’s the body style of choice,” said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst with Cox Automotive. US sedan sales have fallen sharply, down 40% in just the last five years. Most of those sales have shifted to SUVs. But so far Tesla’s only SUV is the luxury-priced Model X. Even Musk conceded this week both the Model X and Model S are nothing more than niche products, and not that significant to the company’s future. “I mean, they’re very expensive, made in low volume,” he said. “To be totally frank, we’ll…continuing to make them more for sentimental reasons than anything else. They’re really of minor importance.” MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 04: A Tesla showroom is seen on April 04, 2019 in Miami, Florida. Tesla announced a first quarter 31% drop in vehicles that were delivered to customers compared to the prior quarter. The news caused the stock to drop approximately 8%.(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Joe Raedle/Getty Images