Tesla recently launched a new and upgraded Model 3 built at Giga Shanghai, announcing the refresh design on September 1. According to a new report, the factory could also soon begin production of a new and upgraded Model Y.
Tesla first opened Giga Shanghai in late 2019, going from a mud pit to a working factory in less than a year. Since then the factory has become Tesla’s most productive and efficient car plant, now with a capacity to build over 1 million cars per year. Among those new cars rolling out of Giga Shanghai every day is the upgraded Model 3, which comes with a new front and rear end design, as well as a number of changes “under the hood.”
A few weeks after its launch, the company surprised everybody by releasing a slightly revamped Model Y, borrowing some of the features from the new Model 3. Among the changes were an ambient light strip and new material for the dash, and changing the wheels from silver to black. While that was just a slight refresh of the electric SUV, Tesla has continued working on a more serious revamp of the Model Y, and it could enter production within the next six months or so.
According to a report from Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the plans, Tesla is planning to begin upgrading the factory to accommodate the new design during the annual shutdown over the new year holiday.
The insiders say that Tesla will continue to upgrade the factory over the coming months, and that production of the new Model Y at Giga Shanghai could begin as soon as mid-2024.
Tesla’s plans to upgrade the Model Y are not new. Earlier this year we told you about the program, referred to internally as Project Juniper. Details of what exactly will be changed haven’t been revealed, but going by Tesla’s design ethos for the Model 3, the electric SUV will likely get a similar treatment on the exterior, with more changes coming to the interior and to parts of the vehicle we can’t see with the naked eye.
