After more than a decade of selling EV cars, Tesla has shown that it can successfully change the automotive paradigm and compete with legacy automakers – even in terms of sales and pricing, not just performance.
They have models like the 1,020-hp S and X Plaids that can roast almost any ICE-powered series-production car at the local quarter-mile dragstrip. They have the all-new Cybertruck, an electric pickup truck that doesn't look like anything currently on the market, and not just from its segment. They also have the Model 3 sedan as the base offering plus the Model Y crossover SUV – which was America's fifth best-selling car last year, plus the king of the European continent and the second most popular nameplate worldwide!
What more could you ask from them aside from better range, higher quality builds, and subtle upgrades that make their vehicles even better than before? With a few exceptions, that's precisely what they achieved with the refreshed Tesla Model 3 'Highland,' and now all eyes are on the crossover SUV sibling because the rumor mill had hoped to catch its facelift ahead of time. Dubbed 'Project Juniper,' this incremental update supposedly arrived as early as this year. Still, a new report claims that Tesla won't bring the refreshed Model Y to America in 2024.
Of course, it could just be presented first in China or Europe, just like was the case with the Model 3, but this time around, it's harder to do that because it's produced in all three locations. Anyway, all these speculations are enticing the imaginative realm of digital car content creators to dream of their unofficial Tesla Model Y 'Juniper' design projects. For example, the good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube have imagined a great way to pay attention to their ideas – there are no less than three facelift variants for the mid-size crossover SUV in the video embedded below.
More precisely, the resident pixel master has envisioned the hypothetical 2025 or 2026 Tesla Model Y refresh with the same kind of Model 3 Highland changes at the rear (new, slimmer LED taillights) and inside the cabin but also with a trio of different front fascia designs – one following the style of the Model 3, one fashioned after the eternally-late second-generation Roadster, and even a variant taking cues from the wacky Cybertruck!
As always, there is also a traditional color reel presenting a lot more options than Tesla's five shades (Stealth Grey, Pearl White, Deep Blue, Sold Black, or Ultra Red), including green, yellow, and purple, among many others. Meanwhile, the channel's host has discussed the potential changes tucked under the skin, postulating that maybe Tesla will bring a little more power (+10%) and range (+15%) for the refreshed Model Y and perhaps even a more rugged Cross variant to the market.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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