Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla is not about to launch a refreshed version of the Model Y, marking the second time this year that the company has denied rumours of a refresh for the electric SUV, but the first public denial of such rumours.
Earlier this year, not long after the launch of the Model 3 refresh, and after a report emerged that Tesla was working to also update the Model Y late in 2024, the company told its employees in an internal email that they had no plans to launch a refresh version this year.
This communication was only to employees, who were told to advise customers of this plan, in case some were reading the rumours and holding off on purchasing the Model Y.
However, rumours of an impending launch of a new Model Y heated up again last week, with some rumours even suggesting it was going to go on sale in July.
Over the weekend, Musk took to X to deny these rumours, replying to a post on his social media platform saying that there will be “no Model Y ‘refresh’ …coming out this year.”
Musk also took the opportunity to remind potential customers that even though no refresh is planned for 2024, Tesla is continually updating and improving their cars throughout the year, unlike legacy automakers which typically only make changes at the start of a new model year.
No Model Y “refresh” is coming out this year.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2024
I should note that Tesla continuously improves its cars, so even a car that is 6 months newer will be a little better.
As we noted, reports of the Model Y refresh first emerged last year. The project, codenamed ‘Project Juniper,’ is expected to see many of the same changes Tesla made to the Model 3 finding their way into the Model Y.
According to that report, the updated Model Y was planned to enter production in October 2024, one year after the updated Model 3 entered production. While production of the new Model 3 first started in China, it is unknown at this point whether production of the new Model Y will also begin in China, or elsewhere.
Currently, Tesla produces the Model Y at their four vehicle factories – Fremont, Giga Texas, Giga Berlin, and Giga Shanghai.
