- Tesla’s new updated Model Y is now available to order in the US, Canada, UK, and mainland Europe.
- The refreshed Model Y was first launched in China earlier in January.
- Tesla’s sales fell for the first time in 2024 as EV competition intensified.
Tesla’s updated version of the Model Y is now available to order in the US, Canada, the UK, and mainland Europe — weeks after it was unveiled in China.
In the US, the refreshed car, including the full self-driving feature, costs $59,990 without the Federal Tax Credit applied to EVs.
According to Tesla’s website, deliveries will start in March in North America and mainland Europe and in May in the UK.
The new version of the Model Y has a longer range than its predecessor and features an updated design, including a Cybertruck-style light bar instead of more traditional headlights.
Elon Musk’s automaker launched a long-awaited updated version of its most successful car in China, parts of southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand earlier this month to fight fierce competition from Chinese electric vehicle rivals.
Deliveries of the car are due to begin in March in China, where it will cost 263,500 yuan ($35,900), about $3,000 more expensive than the starting price of the existing model.
The move comes as no surprise as Tesla has struggled in recent months next to its Chinese competitors.
At the beginning of January, the automotive company BYD said it sold 1.76 million battery electric cars in 2024, a 12% increase from the 1.57 million cars it sold in 2023. Smaller EV makers Nio and Xpeng also saw strong sales in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, Tesla announced that it had delivered 1.79 million vehicles last year, a 1% drop from the 1.81 million vehicles it delivered in 2023 — the first sales drop in its history. Its decline in sales was particularly substantial in Europe, where sales fell 13%.
The release of the new Model Y comes as Tesla announced it would deploy a software update to about 1.2 million vehicles in China to fix problems with the car’s steering and rear-view cameras. The issue poses a possible risk to safety, Chinese regulators said in a statement first reported by Bloomberg.
Tesla’s update to fix the steering system will involve 871,087 domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. According to Bloomberg, an additional 335,716 cars, including imported Model S and Model Xs and domestically produced Model 3 and Model Ys, will receive an update for the camera issues.
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