The saga that is the Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive (LR RWD) Tesla Model Y may not be over just yet. On Thursday, March 25 2021 the California Air Resources Board (CARB) published a list of new executive orders for for Passenger Cars, Light Duty Trucks, and Medium Duty Vehicles.
One of the executive orders, A-374-0033, was for Tesla as seen in the screenshot below.
Shortly after the list was published several of the executive orders were mysteriously removed. As you might guess, one of the orders that disappeared was A-374-0033. A copy obtained by The Driven shows the now removed document certified a “Model Y Long Range RWD”.
On the certification it states the LR RWD Model Y has an urban dynamometer driving schedule (UDDS) range of 470.72 miles (757km). This range is obviously not typical of the actual driving range of electric vehicles (EVs), but can be benchmarked against the LR AWD (445 miles/716km) and Performance (447 miles/719km) UDDS ratings.
While it is not perfectly accurate, it is also estimated the EPA range is about 70% of the UDDS range. That would mean the LR RWD Model Y would have an EPA rated range of about 329 miles (529km), slightly more than the current 326 miles (524km) for the LR AWD Model Y.
The certification is significant because in the past, some Tesla vehicles have received it and begun deliveries as little as a month later.
While we are hopeful this might be indication we will see the LR RWD Model Y soon, it is worth noting the certification is for a 2020 model year, and not a 2021 model year which is what Tesla is currently manufacturing.
Since the document was hastily removed, maybe we’ll see a 2021 model year certification soon? It would certainly make sense given the recent abrupt cancellation of the Standard Range (SR) Model Y last month.
What do you think, will we ever see the LR RWD Model Y? Let us know in the comments below.
