Tesla's three row Model Y L has started making its public appearances in the United States, and the more interesting changes are the ones that do not show up in a headline spec. Kim Java and PJ report that the L gets per row climate control adjustable from the centre screen, a cabin that cools around 15 percent faster than the current Juniper Model Y, and what Tesla describes as a 23 percent thermal efficiency improvement in hot conditions. That last figure is doing the real work. The video says it returns roughly seven miles of range on a car whose wheelbase is seven inches longer and which weighs more than the standard Y. Powershare arrives in North America with it, and the Launch Series is close to sold out.
Two details deserve a buyer's attention before the configurator fills up. Powershare, Tesla's bidirectional feature, is not capability sitting free in the car. The video says it requires a Powerwall 3 at the property to move power into the house, so the price of the vehicle is not the price of the feature. Anyone choosing the L specifically for home backup should price the whole install rather than the option line. The second is a deletion rather than an addition. The Chinese market car has a cooled wireless charging pad and the US car does not, with the video reporting Tesla's reasoning that the standard is not widely adopted here yet and a rollout expected across the range in the next 12 to 18 months. Cross shopping a US spec sheet against the Chinese one will turn up differences like that, and it is worth checking which side of the split anything you care about falls on.
On how the efficiency gain is achieved, the video credits a mix of thermal management and glass, describing solar reflection off the roof as eight times better than previous versions, with cabin temperature reaching its target inside roughly 10 to 15 minutes in sunny conditions. On price, the hosts put the Launch Series at around $61,900 and note it bundles a year of free supercharging, free connectivity, and interior, exterior and wheel choices with no upcharge, which they reckon roughly covers the five to eight thousand dollar premium if you wanted all of it anyway. The video says Tesla has not disclosed how many Launch Series cars will be built. The hosts estimate about a thousand based on past practice, which is their guess rather than a company figure. They are also sceptical about these cars as investments, pointing to early signature Model S and Model X examples that they say now change hands well below their original prices.
Powershare is not exclusive to the L. The hosts note it already appears on Cybertruck and say the Performance Y has it as well, so the three row car joins a growing group rather than opening a new capability. They also flag a wrinkle in how Tesla bundles these launch cars. Their own launch edition Model Y from earlier in the year came with full self driving attached to the vehicle rather than to a twelve month term, and they wonder aloud what happens to that arrangement if Tesla moves customers onto a newer computer. That is speculation on their part, and the video does not report a company position on it.
Bottom line: the Model Y L is the least exciting kind of product update, which is usually the kind that ages best. Nobody buys a three row SUV because the cabin cools 15 percent faster, and everyone who has loaded two kids into a hot car in August will notice it every single time. Seven miles of range recovered through glass and thermal software rather than extra cells says more about where Tesla is finding gains now than any 0 to 60 number would. Buy it as a family car. Do not buy it as a collectible.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.