Tesla Model Y Performance to return later this year in 'Juniper' facelift line-up

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The Tesla Model Y Performance is due to return to overseas showrooms later this year – alongside a revived seven-seat option – after the first arrivals of the updated ‘Juniper’ model in the coming months.

The facelifted Model Y was unveiled last month for Australia in Rear-Wheel Drive and Long Range All-Wheel Drive forms only, as part of a Launch Series that will be offered for the first few months of customer deliveries.

Tesla vehicle engineering chief Lars Moravy told US car collector Jay Leno in an episode of his Jay Leno’s Garage series the flagship variant will make a comeback.

“We’re starting with the launch edition, then all of the other variants – the … base-edition rear-wheel-drive, the Performance, the seven-seater options – those will come later in the year,” he said.

MORE: 2025 Tesla Model Y revealed – Juniper update due in Australia mid-year

In the US, the updated Model Y is currently sold in dual-motor Long Range form only, with the rear-drive version available locally – through Tesla’s Chinese factory – not yet available there.

Precise arrival timing is yet to be confirmed, but if history is a guide, expect the Model Y Performance to go on sale in Australia at the same time as the US and Europe, despite Tesla building the car in multiple factories globally.

In the meantime, customers who ordered a Model Y Performance before the new model went on sale – but are yet to be allocated a vehicle – have reportedly been told their order cannot be fulfilled, and will be cancelled.

The delay matches the Performance version of the latest Model 3, which was introduced nearly eight months after the standard versions were facelifted in late 2023.

It is likely the updated Model Y Performance will inherit the changes introduced for its sedan sibling, including a new rear electric motor promising up to 22 per cent more continuous power, 32 per cent more peak power, and 16 per cent more peak torque.

The Model 3 Performance is rated at 461kW – up from 393kW – but it is a theoretical figure derived from the peak outputs of each motor added together.

It is believed the car’s battery in Europe and Australia – which cannot deliver as much energy as the US version – can only supply about 415kW at any given time.

The performance boost cut 0-100km/h acceleration from 3.3 to 3.1 seconds in the Model 3, suggesting the Model Y could move from 3.7 to 3.4 seconds with its update.

However, the sedan’s 3 per cent drop in driving range – despite aerodynamic changes made for the revised Model 3 – could see the Model Y Performance’s claimed WLTP range drop below 500km, from 514km in the outgoing car.

Other changes for the latest Model 3 Performance compared to its predecessor include unique styling, adaptive suspension, new wheels, wider tyres, upgraded brake pads, and new front sports seats.

Meanwhile, the return of the seven-seat layout is believed to be the third-row bench previously offered in the US and Europe, rather than a mooted long-wheelbase model reportedly coming to the Chinese market.

This third-row version has never been sold in Australia, even though it has been offered in the UK in right-hand drive.

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