Tesla Model Y Juniper Could Enter Production In Shanghai In January

The refreshed version of the world’s best-selling EV is expected to bring important changes and improvements.

Tesla Model Y Juniper Review

Photo by: InsideEVs

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Dec 19, 2024 at 12:00pm ET

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One Chinese media source says the updated Tesla Model Y "Juniper" will enter production in Shanghai in January 2025.
When production starts in Europe and the U.S. is still unknown but camouflaged prototype sightings are becoming more frequent.
The revised Model Y will likely debut sometime in the first half of 2025.

Tesla is working on a revised version of the Model Y electric crossover called Project Juniper. Like the Highland update for the Model 3, this Model Y refresh is expected to bring numerous changes and improvements to an already very successful vehicle, but we don’t know exactly when it will enter production.

The local media in China, quoted by CnEVPost, reports that the Model Y Juniper will enter mass production in January, which is less than a month away. The Model Y is built in China at Tesla’s massive production facility in Shanghai, which supplies China and other world markets.

Tesla Model Y Juniper

There have been multiple sightings of camouflaged Model Y prototypes both in China and the U.S. with its front and rear parts hidden. It is expected to feature completely redesigned fascias and light clusters, and it may even have full-width light bars in the front and rear. It will also have revised wheel designs and new paint colors.

Inside, we expect a similar makeover to the Model 3 Highland, which lost its indicator and transmission stalks (which are available as an aftermarket add-on), but it upped the materials and assembly quality compared to the pre-refresh model. The revised Model 3 also has a much softer and more compliant suspension, which features frequency selective dampers, and we expect a similar solution will be used on the Model Y Juniper, too.

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Elon Musk said that the Model Y update wasn’t a priority, which is why it was coming so much later than the Model 3 facelift, allowing the company to focus on other projects like the Cybercab. However, there are many rival models gunning for the Model Y’s success, even ones that perhaps follow its formula a bit too closely, like the Onvo L60, while others tread their own path, hoping to woo buyers with a very different proposition.

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We also heard reports about a possible six-seater version of the Model Y, which would be available in China and Europe but not the United States.

The fact that the revised Model Y may enter production in China in early 2025 isn’t necessarily relevant for the U.S. market since the locally sold Model Y is made in the States. However, there have been multiple camouflaged Model Y prototype sightings in the U.S., the most recent being in San Jose, California, which may indicate that Stateside production is also imminent.