Seeing a lot of Model Ys? It was the most-sold vehicle in 2023. I decided to investigate its allure.
Jato.com says
7 of the top 10 cars sold in 2023 are Japanese. 3 are American. Model Y comes first with 1.2m cars sold. Sales grew +64% YoY. At the 7th place is Ford F-150 with 623k vehicles sold. At number 10 is yet another Tesla – Model 3 – with 508k in sales.
S3XY
Model S: $75,000
Model 3: $42,500 ($35,000)
Model X: $80,000 ($72,500)
Model Y: $45,000 ($37,500)
This is what Tesla charges for the car in the US as of Dec 8, 2024. In brackets are accounting for the $7,500 incentive. There are caveats for the incentive. Adjusted gross income must be below $150k. The vehicle price must be below $80k for vans and SUVs, and $55k for other vehicles. This is why Model S is not applicable for the incentive. They also choose to display, by default, around $6,000 in gas savings in the next 5 years.
$37,500 feels quite affordable. Tesla also offers a financing option with a $4,000 downpayment, 0.99% APR, 60 months. That comes down to $725 monthly payment, exclusive of incentive & gas savings.
Model Y is deemed a mid-sized crossover SUV. A definition of a SUV is quite technical, and has to do with subsidy qualifications. It can be expanded into a three-row 7-seater. It has very minimal headroom.
Model Y Juniper
It would be foolish to get the latest iPhone in August. A couple more months, the market will be hit with a new release. People hold off a few months for a phone, then why not for a car? It seems for Tesla fans the release timeline of the world’s best selling car is a critical issue.
Elon Musk says the vehicle is continuously being updated, even in between major releases with hardware revamps. (Not to mention the software updates). This website contains the history of the Model Y update.
AI4 (HW4)
Tesla renamed HW4 to AI4 recently. HW is for hardware. Due to Tesla’s uncoordinated hardware update, there would be blog posts on how to check if your Model Y is HW3 or HW4. According to this source, vehicles made after late May in the US have HW4. Also, the newer models will have 2 red lenses and 1 fake black lens located at the top center of the windshield.
Front camera resolution: 1280×960 -> 2896×1876
Rear-view camera resolution: 1280×960 -> 1448×938
From the image, HW4’s one is noticeably, materially, better.
Other features ...
• Range: 450 km
• Dual-motor all wheel drive
• 250kW charging
• Charging:
Supercharger: 321km per 15 minute (peak charge speed range is limited)
Wall Connecter: 71km per hour charge
Mobile Connector: 4km per hour charge
• Good safety: low chance of roll-over (thanks to battery located at the bottom)
• Active emergency brake (watched a couple videos, not super sure how consistently, and well it works)
• Standard Connectivity (free for 8 years): Navigation, karaoke, several games, video streaming (all via mobile hotspot)
• Premium Connectivity (upgrade available via app, $10 per month or $100 per year): Live traffic visualization (shows nearby cars on the screen, not great for your own lane and when the road is straight), Sentry Mode (detects suspicious activity nearby when parked, can see the surroundings & inside of car via app)
• Preheat car
• Precondition battery before charging (Batteries function worse in colder weather and charge slowly. Tesla made their battery chemistry better and has features like preheating battery to optimal temperature for charging. My verdict: Unless in the utmost extreme weather, it’ll be doable as long as you keep the charger plugged in while parking, and allow for sufficient preheat time before taking it out.)
• Unlatch door via app: helps when door handled is unable to open due to ice.
• Windshield wiper defrost mode.
Written from scratch by Meston Ecoa.
May contain incorrect data and information.