Keep Your Eye On The Price

The new Model Y is almost here. Lower-priced variants aren’t far behind. Keep your eye on the price.

Tesla executives talked about the new Model Y in two videos this past week and listed many of the new features in an X post. The new Y is available to order in the U.S. but is only offered – at the moment – as a high-priced launch edition. The feature-rich Launch edition, available in March, is priced at $59,990 with the $7,500 federal tax credit and $52,490 with the credit. But Tesla changes its prices and lineups often. Sometimes so often that it’s hard to keep up.

New Model Y variants will be price competitive

The new Model Y base Dual-Motor and Rear-Wheel Drive versions will be considerably less expensive. Look no further than the “old” Model Y being sold on the Tesla inventory page. “We’re starting with the Launch edition. All the other variants…the Dual-Motor base edition, Rear-Wheel Drive, Performance, seven seater options…those will come later in the year,” said Lars Moravy, VP of vehicle engineering at Tesla, in an interview with Jay Leno posted this past week.

New Model Y upgrades:

• Glass roof with low-E glass, or low-emissivity glass for the roof. That allows the glass to reject 25 to 30 percent more of the heat that’s coming into the car, Moravy said. Cars with glass roofs tend to get hot in the summer.
• Matrix-style headlights: these use multiple LEDs to create a more adaptable headlight beam that can adjust itself based on the driving conditions. The front lightbar – one of the new Y’s signature cosmetic changes – is actually not part of the headlights, which are below the lightbar.
• Flip-and-fold rear seats: The rear seats fold automatically and the front seats adjust automatically to allow the rear seats to fold down.
• Hands-free liftgate: just walk up to it and it opens.
• Interior makeover: new “choose your color” ambient lighting and new synthetic leather, which is easier to clean.
• Center console with a two-phone charger is new.
• Turn signal stalk: Brought back the turn signal indicator stalk.
• More speakers: As many as 16 in high-end trim. Some of the speakers are hidden behind the material. Tesla developed material that sound can flow through.
• Better microphone system: Tesla also added microphones to the headliner which improves call quality.
• Separate bluetooth in rear seat: rear-seat passengers can now pair bluetooth separately to the rear-seat screen, so passengers can have a separate bluetooth connection/experience.
• Interior-cabin radar that “classifies” occupants looking at the size of the occupant, the height, the weight – optimizing airbag deployment during a crash – and detects child presence.
• Cabin noise reduction because of laminated glass.
• Model Y Launch edition has 455 horsepower and 430 pounds-feet of torque, compared to the base dual motor that has 410 HP.
• Range increase to 327 miles: in a separate update, Tesla increased the range of the new AWD Model Y from 320 miles to 327 miles on the Model Y page on Monday.

The watchword is “wait”: price will fall

Expect versions mentioned by Moravy to become available priced way below the Launch edition. As a benchmark, pricing for the current (non-Juniper) RWD Model Y in the U.S. starts at $44,990 before federal tax credit and $37,490 with the credit (before taxes and fees). And $47,990 and $40,490, respectively, for the AWD Y.