2026 Tesla Model Y Performance 'Juniper' may be in Australia this year, as first prototype spotted
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A model range expansion is on the way for Tesla’s top seller, including a flagship Performance variant – recently spotted testing for the first time – that could be in local showrooms by year’s end.
The facelifted Tesla Model Y Performance has been all but confirmed for Australia once orders open later this year.
The top-of-the-range grade was absent from the line-up when the updated Model Y – reportedly codenamed ‘Juniper’ – was revealed in January in Rear-Wheel Drive and Long Range All-Wheel Drive trims.
The Performance has subsequently been confirmed for a global launch “later this year”, and is now all but locked in for an Australian arrival.
“We’re hoping to introduce the Performance when that becomes available, potentially second half of the year,” Tesla Australia and New Zealand country director Thom Drew told Drive at the Everything Electric expo in Sydney last week.
MORE: Tesla Model Y Performance to return later this year in 'Juniper' facelift line-up
“It’s still a work in progress there.”
Spotted testing in the US in recent weeks, details of the updated Model Y Performance are yet to be revealed, but it’s expected to draw from the latest version of its Model 3 Performance sedan sibling.
More power is likely, using the Model 3 Performance’s new rear motor – promising 32 per cent more peak power – for a 461kW theoretical combined output, though its real-world peak is limited by the energy the battery can supply, and believed to be closer to 400kW.
It cut the zero to 100km/h acceleration time by 0.2 seconds, suggesting the new Model Y Performance may move from 3.7 to 3.5 seconds.
MORE: 2025 Tesla Model Y demand 'very strong' as first examples arrive in Australia
Driving range is likely to decrease, however, from 514km to about – or slightly less than – 500km, in line with the sedan’s 3 per cent cut.
Other changes likely for the 2025 Model Y Performance include unique styling compared to regular versions, adaptive suspension, new 21-inch wheels, wider tyres, upgraded brake pads, and new front sports seats.
In European markets, Tesla offers a Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive version of the Model Y, promising 622km of driving range – the longest in the line-up.
However, Drew told Drive that variants “isn’t being made out of the factory that we get our vehicles from” – as it is made in Germany not China – so the local line-up will stick with RWD and Long Range AWD grades until the Performance’s arrival.
The post 2026 Tesla Model Y Performance ‘Juniper’ may be in Australia this year, as first prototype spotted appeared first on Drive.
