Tesla to begin production on new, more affordable models The interior of the vehicle is similar to before, but with a few updates that bring it in line with the Model 3 Highland. Notably, there’s a new dashboard that more seamlessly blends into the door panels, helping make the vehicle look slightly more put together. On top of that, there’s additional accent lighting that makes it more modern and a larger infotainment display that measures 15.4 inches instead of 15 inches like before. Christian de Looper / Digital Trends The Model Y now also has a new 8-inch touch display for the rear passengers, allowing them to control their own climate settings and even play games. Performance Not all details about the Model Y Juniper have been released just yet, and we don’t yet know exactly what kind of motors the vehicle will pack. Tesla has released data around acceleration times, however. While the base model of the previous-gen Model Y accelerated to 62mph (the equivalent of 100 kilometers per hour) in 6.6 seconds, the Model Y Juniper can do it in 5.9 seconds. The all-wheel drive Model Y Juniper reaches 62 mph in 4.3 seconds, which is pretty quick. So far, the Model Y Juniper will be available in rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants. Tesla hasn’t announced a performance variant of the vehicle yet, but we expect that it will. Christian de Looper / Digital Trends The Model Y Juniper will get a little smarter, too — or at least it will try. The vehicle will offer Tesla’s predictive shifting technology that’s in use by other Tesla cars. It’s currently unclear if it will be sold in the U.S. with turn signal stalks or not — some images show international variants with that feature, but that could be due to local regulations. Range and charging So far, when it comes to range, we only have numbers as tested by the China Light Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC). Typically, the CLTC is more relaxed than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S., so it’s common for the numbers to be higher. Not only that, but it’s not necessarily a sure thing that the Model Y Juniper sold in the U.S. will come with the same battery size as the one in China. Christian de Looper / Digital Trends That said, we can compare the previous generation Model Y sold in China with the new one sold in China. According to the CLTC, the Model Y Juniper comes with 62.5 kilowatt-hour or 78.5kWh battery packs, allowing the vehicle to reach 593 kilometers or 719km, respectively. That’s an improvement of 39 km (24 miles) for the smaller battery option and 31 km (19 miles) for the larger battery option. Hopefully, we’ll see similar range improvements for the Model Y Juniper when it’s sold in the U.S. Price Because the Model Y Juniper hasn’t been announced for the U.S. just yet, we don’t know how much it will cost here. Tesla has announced China pricing for the vehicle, but it’s almost a certainty that pricing will be different in the U.S. The Model Y Juniper has been announced in China with a starting price of around $35,935 — but we’re expecting the car to cost more when it launches here. It will likely be much closer to the previous-gen Model Y’s starting price of $44,990. Conclusions The Model Y Juniper is a meaningful step forward for the most popular EV in the world. It doesn’t completely reinvent the vehicle, but it does give it some modern updates that help keep it fresh. We’re hoping that once the U.S. version of the Model Y Juniper is announced, it will have some range improvements and perhaps even a lower price than the previous-generation Model Y. Editors’ Recommendations