Tesla's Model Y Juniper facelift that could be announced as soon as next week may have new side mirror design, as well as a front resembling the Model X with the logo there, and a rear light bar.
Those deductions stem from a new sighting of the camouflaged Model Y Juniper refresh as it was driving fast on the highway in torrential rain.
Besides the new design elements, the stable behavior of the facelift's body while hurtling down the wet asphalt hints at a new, more comfortable suspension, too, just as current Model Y owners have been clamoring for a while.
For the first time, one can also see the Model Y Juniper wipers in action, though the desired change here is not how effective the blades are in cleaning the windshield at high speeds, but rather how the automatic wiper system in autonomous driving mode would behave.
There have been many instances when the Tesla wipers work vigorously in bright sunlight, bamboozled by a bug that splashed on the windshield, or fail to recognize the rain's intensity because they only rely on the vehicle's cameras instead of a cheap autowiper sensor that Tesla just refuses to use. The Model Y Juniper's wipers here seem to be cleaning fast and furious, but the jury is still out until they are put to the autowiping test some time next month when the refresh launches from Giga Shanghai.
On the other hand, there's never been a clearer view of the Model Y Juniper facelift's new rear light bar in action. Tesla has made a cutout for the midsection of the light bar in the test mule's camo tarp, and it now seems to serve as a third brake light, but definitely extends to the sides all across the rear, too.
All in all, it seems that the Model Y Juniper refresh will come with a streamlined yet more aggressive design, very similar to the concept Tesla adhered to when crafting the Model 3 Highland facelift last year.
There will reportedly be a new, larger 95 kWh battery option as well, which, coupled with a more efficient 4th-gen Tesla motor, should return a longer range on a charge for the Model Y Juniper.
Under the proverbial hood, Tesla should've also upgraded the powertrain to the modern 800V high- and 48V low-voltage systems that it used for the first time on the Cybertruck. It remains to be seen if the Model Y Juniper will come with the Cybertruck's second-gen 4680 battery, too, whose cost and performance CATL says Elon Musk is overly optimistic about.
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