Weeks after its debut in China, Tesla has released an updated version of its best-selling Model Y SUV in the U.S.
It’s not a redesigned car from the ground up. It’s what the auto industry calls a mid-cycle refresh — cosmetic and tech updates meant to keep an aging model competitive through the second half of its production run.
For the Model Y, that means a new Cybertruck-inspired lighting scheme, new cabin materials, and a small screen for rear-seat passengers.
Tesla will first sell the new Model Y in just one well-equipped trim level, called Launch Series Long Range AWD. That keeps prices high. They’ll start at $61,630, including mandatory delivery and order fees. Deliveries begin in March.
Tesla is briefly taking orders for both the new and old Model Y and offering discounts on existing Model Y SUVs in its inventory.
Cybertruck Look
The Model Y is Tesla’s best-selling vehicle and was the fourth-best-selling car in the U.S. last year. The Cybertruck is Tesla’s most recent new car and the one that got all the buzz when it debuted in 2023. To make the Model Y look fresh, designers created a mash-up.
The new Model Y doesn’t get angular looks or a stainless steel body like the Cybertruck. It keeps the slightly bulbous, upright proportions it has always had. But it gains the Cybertruck’s linear front lighting scheme and a similar wide-stretched light bar across the back.
It does a lot to update the car visually. If you parked the new one next to the old one, no one would wonder which was which.
New Creature Comforts, “Premium Textiles”
The updated Model Y adds a few new standard features. Old Model Y SUVs had heated seats. New ones get heated and ventilated seats up front (no ventilation in the back).
First-row passengers keep their 15.4-inch central touchscreen. Second-row passengers get a new 8-inch version for their entertainment, complete with games.
Tesla promises new “premium textiles” but doesn’t say what they’re made of. The Launch Series Long Range AWD model gets the most sophisticated sound system yet found in a Model Y, with 15 speakers (2024 editions had a maximum of 13).
Mild Mechanical Changes
The company is being vague about mechanical updates – usually a sign that there aren’t many. Tesla says the new Model Y features a “second-generation” suspension and noise-reduction tech.
The launch model will have between 303 and 320 miles of range. Last year’s Model Y boasted between 277 and 337 miles, depending on equipment, so the new range figure fits well within the old one.
Strangely, when the car debuted in China, Tesla press materials focused heavily on the improvements from a new set of standard tires. They don’t appear to have made the trip across the sea.
New Competition
The Model Y made its own segment when it arrived in 2020. It was the first all-electric SUV to reach the mainstream.
Today, it has a long list of competitors. As legacy automakers move into electric vehicles (EVs), their first product is often an SUV in roughly the Model Y’s price range and size bracket. It still outsells the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and the rest of the pack. But, as each new one arrives, it takes bites of the Model Y’s market share.
Tesla sold more Model Y SUVs in 2024 than in 2023, but only by 5% — modest growth for a brand built on exponents. The company suffered its first-ever sales drop last year and now controls less than half the EV market it built.
Tesla needs a win. The facelifted Model Y gives fans more of what they love, which just might provide it.