Fido Friendliness Could Enhance The Next Tesla Model Y Refresh

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“No Model Y ‘refresh’ is coming out this year,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated earlier this year before adding a caveat. “I should note that Tesla continuously improves its cars, so even a car that is six months newer will be a little better.”

This week media channels have started buzzing that a Tesla Model Y refresh is forecast to be released in early 2025. The gossip comes from a leak posted to Weibo by a Chinese car blogger.

With the appealing 0.99% APR for 60 months on the Model Y in the US, that should be good news for consumers who have patiently waited for a spiffed-up version of one of the world’s most popular vehicles. The Model Y competes in a busy segment of the midsize electric SUV class, so an update could boost sales and secure the model’s ongoing demand.

As one of the whispers about the Model Y refresh, it’s being suggested that the SUV is being redesigned with a bigger third row. That would make it more dog-friendly, which could enhance the model’s appeal, particularly in China. China’s typical SUV is a bit more spacious than the current Model Y.

In February, Tesla fans were disappointed to learn that Tesla had sent out an internal communication to its sales offices that there would be no Model Y refresh launching in North America in 2024. Autocarsuggests that, since the Model Y has not been updated since its 2020 launch, it no longer so obviously offers a usability and performance advantage over its rivals.

Then, this summer, Tesla introduced several changes to its Model 3 sedan in an effort to make it more attractive to buyers. As CleanTechnica’s Steve Hanley notes, those upgrades included the ability to change the colors of the car’s ambient lighting, an 8-inch touchscreen for rear-seat passengers, and the removal of the traditional stalks for controlling turn signals and gear selection from the steering column. A slightly revised rear end treatment and full width light bar reflected a styling touch that is gaining popularity in the world of automobiles.

The Model Y is a lot like a bigger Model 3. Tesla states that 75% of components are shared. It is only 50mm longer, at 4751mm, but it is 181mm taller. Of that, 27mm goes into increasing the ground clearance to 167mm, so the body height is stretched by more than 150mm, which benefits not just head room but also the rear passengers’ seating position.

Wiredsuggests that the Model Y refresh will be revealed in Q1 2025 and that efficiency and performance will be enhanced. New damping will improve the ride. Inside, more of the primary controls will be moved to the touchscreen, including the gear selector. 360-degree acoustic glass will be introduced, and rear passengers will gain entertainment screens for streaming content, gaming, and climate control.

Barronsreports that a new variant of its most popular vehicle could help the electric vehicle maker compete with fast-growing rivals in China. October’s best-selling EV analyses place Tesla behind China’s BYD in EV sales.

“In markets where Tesla sells well, such as California and China, the Model Y is looking dated,” John McElroy, host of the automotive program Autoline, toldForbes. “Tesla needs a styling upgrade … if it hopes to get existing Model Y owners to come back and buy another one.”

EV Sales Now Need Personalized Experiences — and Pooch-y Perks

Lifestyle attributes — those characteristics and behaviors that define how individuals live their lives, including their interests, values, activities, and consumption patterns — significantly influence consumer behavior by guiding preferences and purchasing decisions. Marketers analyze these attributes to develop targeted strategies that resonate with specific consumer segments.

Purchasing a car is an exciting milestone and a major financial commitment, and customers today want a personalized buying experience. They expect dealerships to understand their individual preferences. Add to the equation that the 2024 EV buyer is tech-savvy, environmentally conscious, and expects a bespoke sales experience. Assumptions that go along with an EV sale now include a whole list of lifestyle attributes — including the desire to purchase a new vehicle with pooch-preferred built-in extras.

Dogs, you see, devote lots of brain power to interpreting smells. They have more than 100 million sensory receptor sites in the nasal cavity, compared to 6 million receptacles in humans. The area of the canine brain devoted to analyzing odors is about 40 times larger than the comparable part of the human brain. In fact, it has been estimated that dogs can smell anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times better than people. A ride in the car with the window open is an intense sensory experience for a dog. As the car moves and the scents change, dogs constantly gets updated information about the world around them.

Tesla already includes a Dog Mode that allows owners to maintain a comfortable cabin temperature while they leave their vehicles. The company website explains that “Dog” is designed to maintain a comfortable cabin temperature for your pet while you actively and frequently monitor this temperature using the mobile app (which requires both your phone and the vehicle to have cellular connectivity). When in Dog Mode, the touchscreen displays the current cabin temperature to inform people passing by that the pet is safe. When Dog Mode is on, the interior cabin camera shows the inside of the vehicle so drivers can check on their pets at any time.

Some dog aficionados counsel others to look for vehicles with ample interior space that allow a pet to lie down, stretch, and move around easily. The Model Y’s current configuration already offers a fairly spacious interior space and includes doors that open wide and are close to the ground — which appeal to furry beasts and their humans. The Model Y refresh seems positioned to offer a dog the right space, comfort, safety, and charging station frequency — really, lots of the same lifestyle attributes that humans want.

Final Thoughts about the Model Y Refresh and Our Best Friends

Tesla isn’t the only automaker styling for the pet set. The Nissan Rogue “Dogue Concept” is a concept SUV that is decked out with specific features to make traveling with dogs a much more simple, safe, and enjoyable experience. Nissan didn’t just create the Dogue Concept on a whim — the company surveyed dog owners and determined that their dogs had a huge impact on how they purchased vehicles. In fact, 75% of the 400 surveyed individuals agreed that optional features that would add to their dog’s comfort and safety would have an impact on their choice of vehicle.

Nissan’s research pointed to the top three features dog owners who were surveyed most wanted:

• clip-in harness hook (81%);
• non-spill water dispensers (74%); and,
• slide-away dog ramp (55%).

We’ll see if these or other even more dog-friendly adaptations will come with the 2025 Model Y refresh.