Tesla starts mass Model Y Juniper production for early release as US deliveries are being pushed back

The new Model Y Juniper facelift release date will be earlier than what Tesla announced, it seems, as it has already started the mass Juniper refresh production and deliveries will start "soon," perhaps as early as next week.

Ever since it announced the new Model Y Juniper, Tesla has pegged March as its release month, both in China, and in the US. The Giga Shanghai team, however, just teased that it has now finished the pilot batches stage during a brief Chinese New Year pause for retooling and upgrades, and is starting a proper mass production, with deliveries to those who ordered first to now follow.

Local sources tip that the Model Y Juniper release date will be as soon as next week, when the initial units will start getting in the hands of their rightful owners. That would be about a week ahead of Tesla's own announced Juniper delivery schedule, and will likely result in a lot of first-hand videos and impressions from customers.

As for the US release of the 2026 Model Y Juniper, it shouldn't be far behind the China launch, as it got announced here merely days after Tesla China shared the new Model Y's specs and pricing. Tesla has already gotten the official Model Y Juniper EPA range on a charge number, too, so there are no real barriers before an early US release but production readiness.

The 2026 Model Y facelift is rated as good for 327 miles of range on a charge, which is 5% more than the old Model Y AWD thanks to a more efficient drivetrain and better aerodynamics, rather than a battery capacity bump.

Still, the orders of those who reserved the $60,000 Model Y Juniper in North America, and got a February-March delivery timeframe, are now only showing next month as the release date.

Tesla's Giga Shanghai factory is its largest and most efficient production facility, though, and this is probably paying off for local customers, while Americans with new Model Y orders might have to wait a week or two more for Giga Texas and Fremont to start churning out the Juniper facelift en masse.

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