Today on X, Elon Musk has confirmed that there will not be a Model Y refresh coming in 2024, to match the recent Model 3 refresh.
This news isn’t exactly surprising given the fact that nobody has seen any covered-up test vehicles in either China or the US, but still a disappointment for eager fans and potential buyers waiting to buy the updated vehicle.
Continuous Improvement
Elon did mention in his post that Tesla continuously iterates on its vehicles, even without a full-blown refresh. He noted that even a vehicle that is 6 months newer will be a little bit better.
There has been some continuous improvement seen in China – the updated Model Y in China comes with a new dash, including ambient lighting for the dash area, updated trim from wood to black and grey cloth, and the new black Gemini wheel covers (which recently did come to North America).
There are also some under-the-hood changes, including an update for the Model Y Standard Range’s 0-100 km/h (0-60mph) from 6.9 seconds to 5.9 seconds. The Long Range and Performance variants also received slightly better ranges, with improvements in the battery technology.
Sadly, none of these updates have filtered into North America – not even through Canada, as all Canadian Model Y’s are currently manufactured in Giga Shanghai, right next to Chinese vehicles.
Juniper When?
The Refresh Y, codenamed Juniper – will eventually arrive when Tesla deems the time is right. However, the 3’s Highland refresh and ramp-up is probably Tesla’s main focus at the moment, and with the current version of the Model Y still being one of the world’s best-selling vehicle, there is no rush to bring Project Juniper to customers just yet.
We may see test vehicles sometime later this year in China or the United States. However, China may receive the Juniper update before North America and Europe. China unveiled the new Model 3 in September 2023, with Highland coming globally in 2024.
We also previously reported that China has begun to slow down its Model Y production, which could indicate the preparation for retooling, but it is too early to tell whether this is related to Project Juniper yet.