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Tesla has issued a recall for 700,000 vehicles in the US, which addresses a software bug that impacted Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) sensors. Of course, this recall was resolved with an over-the-air (OTA) update on Tesla update 2024.38.7.
As the software bug could potentially pose a safety issue, a mandatory NHTSA recall was filed by Tesla. This bug impacted the Model Y, Model 3, and Cybertruck. As usual, mainstream news media has let loose on Tesla, issuing articles and headline reports on TV covering the recall - but of course, not mentioning it was fixed by an OTA update, even before the notice was released.
Update 2024.38.3 reset the TPMS warning indicator when the vehicle was powered down or put to sleep between drives. This could potentially leave a driver unaware of a persistent TPMS issue, wherein they could have too little or too much air pressure in a tire.
According to the NHTSA filing, Tesla identified the issue on November 6th, 2024, and then confirmed in a further investigation that there was indeed an issue. Shortly afterward, update 2024.38.7 began rolling out on November 12th, just under a week later.
Tesla also confirmed that there were no real-life impacts - so no collisions, injuries, or fatalities as a result of this bug while it was in the wild. They did note that 76 warranty claims were filed during the 6-day period, which helped to isolate the issue.
OTA Recalls Now Recognized by NHTSA
Not a Tesla App
According to a post by DriveTeslaCA, the NHTSA has now added an icon to their website indicating whether a recall is fixed via an OTA software update.
The message reads: “Software Update Repairs Recall”.
That’s certainly a step forward, letting users know the issue will be addressed via a software update and they won’t need to bring their car into service. We’d like to see NHTSA next adopt some of the lessons learned by Transport Canada, which issues recalls solely by e-mail.
NHTSA will be using approximately 50 trees worth of paper to print and ship the recall notices, which will likely arrive sometime in January - months after the issue has already been resolved by Tesla.
Tesla’s Model Y refresh - codenamed Juniper - is the source of a lot of rumors. It is also one of the most hotly anticipated vehicle refreshes ever. Given that it’s been the best-selling vehicle globally for several years now, this should come as no surprise.
We did some investigation into all the different things we’ve heard recently - and we’ll give you our take. We spent some time diving deep into some of the Chinese sources that reported all of these different details, so we’re hoping to get as close as possible to the truth.
Production Starting in January
LatePost, a media outlet from Shanghai, recently reported on the departure of Song Gang, director of Tesla’s Shanghai factory. This report said that the Model Y Juniper would go into production next month — January 2025.
This seems in line with previous news we’ve heard - namely that Giga Shanghai was reducing Model Y production capacity to run a prototype line of the Model Y. It seems that Giga Shanghai won’t need as much time to retool as with the Model 3 Highland, as Highland and Juniper likely share many similarities.
Additionally, this matches the same timeline for the Model 3 Highland’s launch, where Tesla launched it in China first and then later launched it in Europe and North America once Giga Shanghai worked out all the kinks in production. While the Highland 3 began shipping in October 2023, we feel like we can expect the first ship date for the Juniper Y to begin sometime in Q1.
Front and Rear Lightbar
This is one of the most credible rumors we’ve seen - and it makes sense. We’ve seen photos of the Model Y Juniper that’s covered up, and most of them have front and rear lightbars - or what looks like lightbars, anyway. We’re pretty sure the vehicle will arrive with lightbars on both ends, and it’ll be just as visually striking as the Cybertruck and Cybercab.
We love Tesla’s lean into the Cyber aesthetic, especially given the slick new style of the Cybercab that was shown off at this year’s We, Robot. Given the Model Y is more of a mass-market vehicle that needs to appeal to everyone, we’re sure that Tesla is going to strike a fine balance between futuristic and modern. It’ll definitely be a vehicle that turns heads.
We’ve also heard plenty of stuff on performance upgrades, which are also likely to be true. The Model 3 Highland saw a fairly big boost in performance, even for the Rear Wheel Drive and Long Range Variants. The Performance variant saw a ludicrous uplift, and we’re hoping to see the same pan out for Juniper.
4th Gen Motors
Some reports have mentioned that Tesla will introduce a fourth-gen motor with Juniper - but we think this is relatively unlikely. The Model 3 Highland and the Model Y Juniper are expected to share many parts, and the motors will likely be one of them.
This similarity in parts helps Tesla scale and offer cheaper prices to customers around the world. Changing to a new motor would eliminate one of the biggest advantages provided by having Model 3 and Model Y production in the same facility.
We’d instead expect any motor improvements to launch quietly, similar to how Tesla normally does under-the-hood hardware changes. We’ll see a number updated on their site, and until the first vehicle ships with a new motor, we won’t even know it's there.
95kWh Battery
We’re not sure that any version of a Model Y will get a 95kWh battery. The Long Range variant currently ships with a 75kWh battery, with a range of approximately 310 miles. A 95kWh battery could potentially push that range closer to 350-375 miles, but we’d see diminishing returns from the additional weight.
Instead, we could potentially see Tesla using the new Cybercell or one of its new battery variants that it has been exploring - either the CATL 6M packs that we’ve heard about or one of the new and mysterious NC20 cells. We did mention that we don’t believe Tesla will shift to new motors, but Tesla has previously shipped the Model Y with 4680 cells, so we could potentially see them shipping the Juniper Y with a different battery other than the current 2170 packs in the Model 3.
However, Tesla is still focusing on scaling the Cybercell at Giga Texas for the Cybertruck, and they’ve previously mentioned that they don’t want to take away production from the Cybertruck’s line to use the cell in the Tesla Semi - which is still running on the older 2170 cell. As such, its likely the Juniper will ship using the same 2170 or LFP packs that the Model 3 Highland currently utilizes.
A Juniper concept from @DominicBRNKMN on X
@DominicBRNKMN on X
Bigger, Better, Tiltable Screen
Another set of reports mentioned that Juniper would receive a larger screen with a higher resolution and the ability to tilt — very similar to the Model S and Model X. Consider this one to unlikely. Tesla has previously said they want to simplify parts of the vehicle that people don’t use - and the Cybertruck, Tesla’s current flagship vehicle, shipped with the biggest display to date and didn’t include the ability to tilt the screen.
Using the same argument earlier on the parts compatibility between the Highland and Juniper, we fully expect the refreshed Model Y to arrive with the same screen as the Model 3 Highland, but we’d be happy to be surprised.
6 Seater Variant
LatePost’s report also mentioned that a 6-seat variant of the Model Y would begin production in late 2025. This lines up smoothly with Reuters’ report on the 6-seat variant, which could potentially be exclusive to China. Reuters mentioned that the 7-seat Model Y was fairly unpopular in China, as the third row was cramped, although Chinese families liked the idea of having at least 6 seats.
We’d expect this 6-seat variant to launch in late 2025, sometime after the expected Late Spring/Early Summer launch of the Juniper’s performance variant.
That’s everything we know about the Model Y Juniper so far. In short, production could start as early as next month, with front and rear lightbars, performance upgrades, and a 6-seat variant later down the line. We wouldn’t expect new generation motors, a different battery, or even a fancier screen.