The 2025 Model Y Juniper Is Coming, As Tesla Gears Up For Change

Posted by Admin
on November 04, 2024

A redesigned Model Y is on the horizon, along with a shift in Tesla’s overall approach to vehicle design.

Tesla continues to offer 0.99% APR for 60 months on the Model Y in the U.S. And lease deals that start at $349/month with a $2,999 down payment. While tempting, financing deals alone can’t compare to a revamp of the Model Y. The question of course is when. Signs point to 2025 — likely the first half per the growing number of leaks. The “Juniper” update would follow the January “Highland” refresh of the Model 3. That involved exterior design tweaks and improvements to the interior and suspension, among other things.

Past its prime

“In markets where Tesla sells well, such as California and China, the Model Y is looking dated,” John McElroy, host of the automotive program Autoline, told me. “Tesla needs a styling upgrade... if it hopes to get existing Model Y owners to come back and buy another one,” he said. And the bestselling EV in the U.S. faces a swelling horde of new models from traditional automakers. “Recently Tesla has been underperforming the rest of the EVs in the market,” Tom Libby, an analyst at S&P Global Mobility, said in an email. “For instance, in August overall retail EV volume was up 24%, but if you take Tesla out, the EV market was up 50%,” he said. Libby added, however, that the Model Y is still a popular, high-profile vehicle for Tesla, underscoring the need to keep it fresh. “The Model Y consistently ranks in the top five models in the industry based on retail registrations (not far behind the F-Series, by the way),” he said. “When will Tesla realize that updating products/re-designs is a requirement to be competitive in this industry?” Libby wondered.

Affordable models plus push to autonomy

A refreshed Model Y would join future affordable models from Tesla in 2025 — the latter mentioned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in the third quarter earnings conference call. “We are still on track to deliver our affordable models starting in the first half of 2025,” Musk said during the call. Affordable models may be tied tangentially to the just-announced Tesla Cybercab which Musk said will “cost roughly $25K, so it is a $25K car.”

The Cybercab is considered to be a watershed for Tesla as it bets its future on autonomy. “Tesla’s apparent pursuit of autonomy over building cars is not an either/or choice. It's a choice to pursue both courses, simultaneously,” AutoForecast Solutions said in its monthly newsletter published on Friday. “CEO Musk’s purpose is to free humans from the drudgery of repetitive, onerous tasks,” the AFS newsletter said.

“Musk has said for years that Tesla is not a car company; it's building computers on wheels. No one listened. Mostly because Tesla innovated manufacturing processes and parts as well as proving that an after-sale upgradeable, customizable vehicle was something that people wanted,” AFS said. “Then came July 23, 2024. Musk redirected Tesla towards becoming an autonomy company,” AFS said, referring to the second quarter earnings call and Tesla’s announcement of the October 10th Robotaxi event.

Tesla’s increasing emphasis on autonomy will undoubtedly manifest itself in any new model releases going forward, including the Tesla Semi. Whether specific autonomy-related hardware improvements are coming to the Model Y isn’t clear but upgrades that appeared in the Model 3 Highland refresh should provide some general guidance.

Model Y Juniper refresh likely takes cues from Model 3 Highland:

• Front: The front end has a sleeker hood and low-profile headlights for better aerodynamics.
• Ride: “Frequency response dampeners” which provide a smoother ride in the refreshed Model 3.
• Performance: The Highland Model 3 Performance has more horsepower (up to 510 hp) and does 0–60 mph in 2.9 seconds.
• Tires: Upgraded tires and wheels for increased range and less noise.
• Seats: Ventilated seats.
• Cabin: A quieter cabin due to 360-degree acoustic glass, i.e., all of the windows are made of acoustic (double-glazed) glass now, not just the windshield and front side glass.
• Screen: A rear entertainment screen for passengers that allows gaming, streaming, and climate control.
• Stalkless: Removal of the stalks on the steering wheel, moving physical controls to thumb buttons on the steering wheel
• Controls: More software (display-based) controls such as a gear selector integrated into the touch screen.
• Sound: Upgraded sound system.
• Hardware 4 (HW4): brings improvements in computing power and sensor capabilities for Autopilot and FSD.
• Motor: improved motors such as a more efficient rear motor in Performance model.

And other possible upgrades:

• Full Self-Driving (FSD): Improved Autopilot and FSD, potentially incorporating more advanced hardware or updated sensors.
• Range: Expect a boost to range based on new battery technology combined with other improvements.
• Rear: Updated taillights and bumper, maybe a rear light bar.
• Cameras: An additional camera could be integrated into the front bumper for enhanced Autopilot and FSD capabilities.

Back to Main Page