Hot on the heels of the Model Y Juniper refresh being spotted uncamouflaged doing winter testing in China, interior photos have also leaked answering some of the biggest questions about potentially controversial changes to the vehicle – and leaving others unanswered.
The refreshed Model Y has been expected for some time, and is expected to include many of the improvements of the 2023 Model 3 refresh. The headline features of that vehicle are a new front-end, more efficiency, and a quieter cabin. But there were a lot of other interior improvements as well – and one controversial de-provement, the deletion of steering column stalks.
We’ve seen plenty of sightings and leaks of the upcoming Model Y refresh lately, though all have been camouflaged to hide front and rear end design changes, until earlier today.
But a few questions remained – what sort of changes would we see on the inside, not just the outside of the vehicle? In particular, what would Tesla do with the steering wheel, as it’s been getting more and more experimental in that realm lately.
Now we have answers to those questions – some of them anyway – after photos showing the interior of the Model Y refresh leaked on Chinese social media on the same day as exterior photos did.
The photos come in what seems to be the form of screengrabs from a short video, focusing mainly on the cockpit area of the vehicle.
In the photo, we can see that Tesla carried over one of the most controversial aspects of the Model 3 refresh – its “stalk delete,” wherein the stalks on the steering column which are typically used for turn signals, drive mode select and windshield wipers have been deleted entirely and replaced with buttons on the steering wheel.
It also adopts the Cybertruck’s “squircle” steering wheel – sort of a midway between a traditional steering wheel and the yoke design present on the Model S.
However, this brings up another question – with the refresh Model Y front-end adopting Cybertruck-like design language with its light bar design, and the steering wheel carrying over the Cybertruck’s design, does this mean the Model Y will use steer-by-wire as the Cybertruck does?
Steer-by-wire is a technology which has been bouncing around automotive circles for some time, replacing a traditional steering rack with digital electronic controls.
On the Cybertruck, it’s used to implement a progressive steering ratio, allowing the rather cumbersome vehicle to be driven much more easily, and reducing the need for “hand-over-hand” turns at low speeds. While the Cybertruck packs a lot of new tech into a weird package, we were particularly impressed by the steer-by-wire system.
Otherwise, the interior photos show a few interior changes – it has what seems to be the same center console and horizontal screen (which is showing the parked vehicle display, instead of map/autopilot display which is normally active during operation), but looks to have redesigned door pockets and includes the wraparound LEDs used for customizable ambient lighting on the Model 3 Highland.
Social media also suggests that a full reveal of the Model Y refresh is imminent – and the same thing happened with the Model 3 Refresh, where photos leaked just hours before the official unveiling. So stay tuned for more, likely soon.
What do you think of this glimpse of the interior of the new Model Y refresh? Let us know in the comments.
Electrek’s Take
As I wrote in the Take of the exterior photos, this refresh is needed, because not only has the Model 3 had access to lots of improvements that the Model Y hasn’t gotten for the last year and a half or so, but Tesla is having a challenging time with sales right now.
The company just finished a year where its sales dropped for the first time since 2011 – back when Tesla only sold the low-production Roadster. This happened despite the overall global EV market surging to new heights, even though Tesla, the world’s largest EV maker (just barely), did its part to drag down the EV market by failing to grow apace with the rest.
Part of the reason for this is due to stale models – while the Model Y is Tesla’s best-selling model, it’s starting to seem a little long in the tooth, particularly given the Model 3’s upgrades.
We’re wondering if this refresh can reignite Tesla’s sales – but there may be other mitigating factors beyond stale models.
After all, Tesla did just finish its first full year of Cybertruck production, which is a new model, but its polarizing nature led to disappointing sales numbers.
That polarization is not helped by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is doing his best to harm the company and say phenomenally stupid things or make ridiculous promises basically every day (or every few minutes). His idiotic behavior is turning away customers, whether he believes it or not.
Maybe the company – not the stock – would be better off if he surrendered his title and let Tesla have a real CEO, so he can go play videogames on twitter all day instead (as he already does).
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