Tesla’s highly anticipated Model Y is now available to order in Australia, with two variants of the refreshed SUV on offer as part of a special Launch series vehicle.
The new Model Y features more range, faster acceleration, updated exterior styling with new paints, interior lighting, ventilated front seats, rear passenger controls and entertainment screen, powered second-row reclining seats, upgraded suspension, upgraded acoustic glass for a quieter ride and much more.
Tesla will also keep one of the stalks for indicators, which has been contrary to what most in the industry expected, given the stalk-less design of the Model 3.
The pricing officially starts at $63,400 for the single-motor RWD variant, while the dual-motor Long Range AWD variant bumps that to $73,400 before on-road costs. This is an increase of $7,500 on the RWD and $3,500 on the AWD variants of the 2024 model.
These Launch series Model Y vehicles are part of a special introductory edition for the new model and pack a few visual and styling features.
On Tesla’s website, the Launch series is described as: “A limited edition Model Y with bespoke features to celebrate the start of production.”
These bespoke features include: “Exclusive Launch Series badging on the rear liftgate, puddle light, doorsill plate and more. All-wheel drive comes with Acceleration Boost.”
The AWD variant for the Launch series includes the Acceleration Boost, which is normally priced from $3,000 on the previous model so a premium of $3,500 as part of the Launch series can be considered as value for some buyers.
All paints are included in the Launch series pricing, which is a bonus for early adopters of the refreshed model looking to get into the new Model Y.
Along with the paints, 20-in Helix 2.0 wheels on the updated configurator are also standard on both RWD and Long Range variants. Previously, the Model Y RWD included 19-inch aero wheels with hubcaps.
The RWD variant sees a range bump of 11 km to 466 km while reducing the acceleration time by a whole second. 0-100 km/h now comes in 5.9 seconds for the single-motor RWD variant, making the car zippier in traffic over the outgoing model.
Looking at the Long Range AWD variant, which bumps the range up to 551 km while highlighting a 0-100 km/h time of just 4.3 seconds.
Charging speeds for the RWD variant have also improved slightly to offer a peak DC charging speed of 175 kW, up from 170 kW.
It would be the first time Tesla has done this locally in recent years as part of a refresh given less than 18 months ago; the Model 3 refresh did not feature a special series to mark the start of production.
New paints on the 2025 Tesla Model Y include a light blue which Tesla calls “Glacier Blue” which gives the car a futuristic look, in line with the Cyber theme Tesla is going with on this vehicle’s design.
The newly launched Model Y is expected to have local customer deliveries start in May.
In the meantime, discounted Model Y inventory is available on Tesla’s website for those wanting to get behind the wheel of Australia’s best-selling EV for the last two years.
We can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the updated Model Y and compare it to the growing competition in the mid-sized SUV space.
With all the new upgrades on the refreshed model and discounting on existing inventory, it’s looking likely that the Model Y will retain its best-selling EV spot in Australia in 2025.
