The new Model Y Juniper facelift has been spotted testing simultaneously in the US near Tesla's Palo Alto facilities, in the UK, and in China, indicating that the release date announcement is near.
Sources from the Gigafactory in Berlin have confirmed that Tesla will be producing the 2025 Model Y Juniper for the European market there, and the staff have been summoned to an operational meeting about the launch next week. The main production hub, however, is expected to be Tesla's Giga Shanghai factory, which is reportedly now producing up to 600 Model Y Juniper units per day, as it started with the trial production way back in October.
The Model Y Juniper spy shots from Palo Alto have been snapped from afar, but from those it seems that the turn signals are integrated in the vehicle's light bars. This observation is now reiterated by what might be the best, or at least the closest pictures of the Juniper refresh that have ever been leaked, depicting a camouflaged run of a test mule in the UK.
Besides the turn signal integration in the front light bar, they showcase seat and steering wheel shapes that are different from what Tesla ships the current Model Y with. The "squircle" of a steering wheel looks very similar to the unorthodox yoke one on the Cybertruck, and it is not clear if the Juniper refresh will have a regular round steering wheel as an option.
What is almost certain, however, is that said steering wheel will carry turn signal buttons, as Tesla will reportedly follow the minimalistic stalkless design of the Model 3 Highland interior, adding ambient lighting to the mix.
The stitching of the seat headrests also looks different, with a shape that is edgier than what the current Model Y seats offer, perhaps synced with the rumored more aggressive and streamlined exterior styled after the 2023 Highland facelift again. Tesla is said to outfit the Model Y Juniper with the vented seats it gave to the Highland, too, which might explain their new shape.
The refresh in the pictures is sitting on Tesla's familiar 20-inch wheels, but more rim and tire options aren't out of the question when the refresh hits the tape later this month. Tesla is expected to announce the Model Y Juniper facelift very soon, with specs featuring a larger battery and more efficient motors that might deliver more than 400 miles of range on a charge when combined.
Faster Model Y Juniper charging is in the cards, too, as Tesla is on record saying that the modern 800V powertrain and 48V low-voltage architectures of the Cybertruck will be transferred over to its future vehicles. Just in time for those up to 500 kW V4 Superchargers that Tesla will be lighting up this year.
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