Tesla Model Y electric crossover loses weight, new documents show

The Model Y is still not available for order in Australia, but new certification documents for the electric crossover published in late March reveal that when it is released locally, it will have lost a few kilos.

The Model Y is Tesla’s fourth volume production vehicle and differs from the Model 3 in that it has a hatch at the back instead of a boot, as well as a higher roof and seating.

It is expected to be a popular seller when it does finally go on sale in Australia, and we’d like to say the new documents suggest this will happen soon. But Tesla is not about to tell us when that will be.

In overseas markets, the crossover version of Tesla’s top selling Model 3 electric sedan has already taken dominant positions in auto sales: for example, in 2021 it became the top-selling vehicle in the SUV and pickup (ute) segment in California according to Cleantechnica.

And with SUVs very much a favourite vehicle flavour in Australia, and interest in EVs on the rise it is likely to also perform well here, and will compete against other EV newcomers such as the Polestar 2, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6.

But it’s been a long time coming. Certification for the Tesla Model Y in Australia first published in September 2021 hinted at an imminent release but an expected opening of the order pages did not eventuate.

Now, a new clue that orders for the highly anticipated electric crossover from Californian EV pioneer Tesla could be about to go live has emerged in the form of the updated certification for the Model Y published on the government’s Rover website.

Many details in the new certification remain the same as per the two Model Ys brought in to Australia in late 2021: all variants are rated to tow 1.6 tonnes braked and 750kg unbraked.

Power output for single-motor RWD Model Y SR remains at 255kW, while the Model Y LR remains at 378kW and the performance power output at 393kW (the latter two of course with dual motors).

However, the documentation also reveals a much greater vehicle mass than the Model 3, which weighs in at around 1.6 tonnes in its RWD format.

The Model Y SR now has a tare weight of 1.909 tonnes (previously 1.923 tonnes), and the Long Range weighs in at 1.979 tonnes (previously 1.981 tonnes). The Performance remains the same at 1.997 tonnes.

And instead, the Model Y SR has a gross vehicle mass of at 2.549 tonnes instead of a previous 2.313 tonnes, the Long Range’s GVM is 2.619 tonnes instead of a previous 2.371 tonnes and the Performance GVM is 2.634 tonnes instead of a previous 2.384 tonnes.

According to the current certification, the battery sizes remain at 173Ah for the Standard Range (with a 360-volt architecture this equates to a 62.28kWh battery) and 230Ah for the dual motor variants (equating to 82.8kWh.)

When the Model Y will become available for order in Australia is still  not known. Tesla started delivering the right-hand-drive Model Y in the UK in late February, and it has been thought that local availability is imminent. We will keep you updated as soon as we know more!

This article has been updated to correct gross vehicle mass and tare weight details.