Tesla offers two new Model Y options, though one may be a squeeze

By Trevor Mogg Published January 10, 2021

Tesla has launched two new variants of its Model Y electric crossover — one with more seats, and another with shorter range but a friendlier price tag.

First up, the seven-seat option, which Tesla added to its website in recent days. The additional seats give the vehicle a three-row configuration and will set you back an extra $3,000. The third row includes USB-C charging ports, while the second row offers adjustable seatbacks. You can also fold down the second and third rows for maximum storage space.

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Tesla says the new seven-seat Model Y offers “easy entry into [the] third row,” so getting in and out shouldn’t feel too much like an obstacle course.

But according to Electrek, which first spotted the new option, squeezing those extra seats into what is a compact crossover makes it look like the vehicle will be “crazy small” inside, so folks with very long legs may have to ride with their knees up around their ears.

Standard Range Model Y

The automaker led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has also started offering the Standard Range version of the Model Y, with an estimated Environmental Protection Agency range of 244 miles.

The arrival of this rear-wheel-drive option means the Model Y now starts at $41,990 instead of $49,990 — the cost of the Long Range model, an all-wheel drive with a range of 326 miles. There’s also a Performance version, which has an estimated 303-mile range and a $59,990 price tag.

When Musk unveiled the Model Y in 2019, Tesla planned to offer a Standard Range option with a 230-mile range and floated spring 2021 as a possible launch date. But in July of last year, Musk said his company had scrapped the idea as the range would be “unacceptably low.” Tesla has evidently had another rethink, launching a Standard Range model with slightly better range than first touted.

For customers in the U.S., Tesla is currently showing delivery time for the new options at between two and seven weeks from when the order is placed.

The arrival of the new variants comes nearly two years after the Model Y was first announced, and almost a year after it began to ship.

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Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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