Elon Musk Says The 3-Row Tesla Model Y L ‘Might Not Ever’ Be Sold In The USA
Tesla introduced a new six-passenger Model Y L in China this week that’s very different from the old three-row Model Y that was available in the U.S.
Instead of just stuffing a third row of seats into the same body as the two-row Model Y, which was updated this year, Tesla stretched the wheelbase and reshaped the roofline to make the cabin roomier and the extra seats more useful.
It’s still a lot smaller than the three-row Model X, but can accommodate larger passengers and is significantly less expensive, with a starting price in China equivalent to $47,000, which is just $3,300 more than the two-row version. That’s for an all-wheel-drive vehicle that would probably be rated for more than 320 miles of range in the U.S. There are no three-row EVs for sale in the U.S. at that price point right now, and the cheapest don’t offer that much range.
But while it looks like a very appealing model for American customers, where the Model Y remains the best-selling electric vehicle by far, Elon Musk says that it’s going to be a while before it’s available in the U.S., if it ever is.
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“This variant of the Model Y doesn’t start production in the US until the end of next year. Might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America,” Musk said on X in response to a post about the vehicle.
The part about self-driving appears to be related to his stated belief that car ownership trends will change as soon as Tesla’s Robotaxi service is fully operational and includes millions of cars across the country.
The service is currently offered in a small section of Austin, Texas, with human monitors on board, but Tesla is working to expand to new markets, including San Francisco and New York, possible before the end of this year.
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Tesla is aiming to put the two-seat, fully autonomous Cybercab into production this year and ramp it up to high volume in 2026. The vehicle was primarily designed for the Robotaxi service, while a new lower-cost vehicle based on the two-row Model Y is also in development and supposed to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Tesla’s product plans often change swiftly and dramatically, however, so there’s really no telling for sure when or if the Model Y L will go on sale in the U.S.