Tesla has announced Let its redesigned Model Y SUV arrive in the United States, Canada and Mexico in March, with a starting price just shy of $60,000.
The news comes just two weeks after Tesla first revealed the new Model Y and said it would arrive in China and other Asian markets, also in March. Thursday’s announcement means the company is effectively launching the refreshed SUV simultaneously around the world, a departure from the multi-month gap between the Asian and North American launch of the Model 3 Sedan in late 2023 and early 2024.
The redesigned Model Y will launch at a crucial time for Tesla, which delivered fewer vehicles in 2024 than in 2023. Tesla has repeatedly warned investors that it is between “two major growth waves” of the Model Y’s success and promised it will launch mysterious new models destined to be built on existing production lines. Those models are likely cheaper than Tesla’s current offerings (which start in the low $40,000 range), but it’s unclear by how much.
CEO Elon Musk has implied that those new models, in addition to the cybercaderos that were teased last October, will help close the company’s evolution from an automaker to a robotics and artificial intelligence player.
But at the same time, Tesla’s vehicle lineup has been aging. Tesla has now refreshed each of its core vehicles – the Model S and 3 sedans and the Model X and Y SUVs – but has only launched one truly new model in the last four years, the Cybertruck. While he became the Best-selling electric truck in the United States in 2024The Cybertruck did little to boost the company’s bottom line last year, and it doesn’t appear to be the runaway success Musk was hoping for.
The new Model Y could offer some relief, although it is coming at a higher price than existing versions. The starting price of the “Lanzar Series” special edition, which is an all-wheel drive variant, is $59,990. That gives buyers a 320-mile battery range and includes Tesla’s most advanced driver-assist software, which it calls “full autonomous (supervised),” usually an $8,000 option. The older Model Y currently starts at $44,990 for a 337-mile rear-drive version.
The most notable changes to the new Model Y come on the exterior, where the bubbly front fascia has been ditched in favor of a slimmer nose with a thin light bar that extends over the hood. The rear of the vehicle now also has a light strip that stretches the entire width.
Inside the refreshed SUV, Tesla has added a configurable light strip that fills the cabin. There’s a new rear passenger touchscreen and some quality-of-life updates, like powered rear seats and better suspension.