New Tesla Model Y vehicles with design refresh spotted in China

Several Tesla Model Y vehicles were spotted with camouflage in China – likely due to the upcoming design refresh.

After the Model 3 refresh launched last year, we have been expecting a Model Y refresh to follow.

It started last year with a Reuters report claiming Tesla was planning a Model Y refresh called Juniper for 2024.

Later, a Bloomberg report added that Tesla planned to release a Model Y refresh in “mid-2024”.

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Tesla has shut does rumor down. Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have stated that Tesla doesn’t plan to refresh the Model Y “this year.” It’s important to note that both Tesla and Musk specifically mentioned “this year” when trying to shut down rumors of a new Model Y.

It led many to think that a refresh is coming, but for early next year.

Sure enough, we started to spot camouflaged Model Y prototypes around California earlier this summer, and more recently, a leak revealed a few new design aspects that are coming to the Model Y refresh.

Even more recently, supply chain reports from China suggested production would start in Q1 2025 and a report earlier this week suggested that Tesla would start trial production this week.

Sure enough, several new Tesla Model Y vehicles with camouflaged have been spotted in China this week:

As the camouflage suggest, the new Model Y is expected to feature new front-end and back-end designs.

The interior is expected to feature similar design updates as the new Model 3, like a new ambient lightbar, which was confirmed by a leak. The leak also showed a red light bar extending between the taillights with a ‘Tesla’ badging in it.

Tesla is also expected to release a new 7-seat version of the Model Y in China.

In recent years, Tesla’s new vehicles often first go into production at Gigafactory Shanghai, which appears to be the case here again, but the Model Y refresh is expected to be a global program.

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