Images Surface of Tesla’s Upcoming Model Y Redesign, Project Juniper [Photos] (2024)

The Model Y Juniper refresh has been rumored to be coming soon, and this time, user Abomb1997 on Reddit has claimed that the two images in this article are the refreshed Juniper.

Previously, we reported that the Model Y Juniper has a Front Bumper Camera, and is expected to be coming sometime in 2025.

Codename Juniper

The refreshed Model Y, codenamed “Juniper” won’t be arriving in 2024 according to Elon Musk, but we’ve started seeing what we expect to be prototype engineering vehicles. We’ve previously seen that front bumper camera, which is already on the Cybertruck and is also expected to arrive on the Model S and Model X.

There was a considerable amount of speculation on the refreshed Model 3 Highland coming with a bumper camera, but it didn’t arrive with one. It could be that the bumper camera upgrade is part of AI5 – the fifth-generation FSD/Autopilot hardware. Elon mentioned today that AI5 is expected to hit high-volume production in 18 months.

Light Bar

It looks like these two leaked images have some unique features – the first being a lightbar on the rear of the vehicle. This looks interesting and it’s something we haven’t seen in a Tesla design, well, excluding the front of the Cybertruck. This could indicate that Tesla is trending towards a Cyber-style with its vehicles, and we’re fans of that.

The second image is a picture of the interior with ambient lighting on the door, along with what looks to be perforated seats. That means the refreshed Model Y - if this is it – will have ventilated seats, a feature that’s on the 2024 Model 3 as well.

Ambient Lighting Changes

In terms of the ambient lighting and dash, it looks distinctly different enough from the refreshed Model 3 to not be the same vehicle. The light bar on the door seems to end midway down the door, rather than going almost to the edge of the door in the 2024 Model 3.

We’re excited to see these improvements, and there is probably so much more around the corner. If these leaks are accurate, it seems that Tesla may be looking to make the refreshed Model Y more than just a larger Model 3, or they may be taking the opportunity to add new features to the Model Y first.

The refreshed Model Y Juniper is going to be an even better version of the best-selling vehicle in the world.

The Tesla Semi truck factory has finally broken ground and work has started on the construction just recently.

Semi Large-Scale Production

Tesla’s Semi is an electric semi-truck, capable of hauling up to 82,000 lbs of weight at highway speeds and moderately long distances – a compelling competitor to the average semi-truck. This new Tesla Semi factory will be online in late 2025, which will move Tesla from the slow-rate bespoke production of the Semi today, to high-rate production for its partner companies.

The Tesla Semi is a compelling sales pitch – the average semi truck only travels within 50 miles of its base, and 75% of them stay within 500 miles. The Tesla Semi has an expected range of 500mi, which means there’s a sizeable market for this vehicle – you could take 50% of the polluting diesel trucks off the road today, and immediately replace them with the Tesla Semi.

Alongside its MCS Semi Charger, the Tesla Semi can recharge up to 80% of its range in under 30 minutes. Overall, the cost case with the reduced overall cost of ownership through reduced maintenance, lower driving costs, and increased safety will be the key to Tesla unlocking the North American, and perhaps European and Chinese semi-truck markets.

Future Render

Dan Priestley, head of the Tesla Semi Program, also showed off both the above image, and this render of what the Semi Factory will look like. A few key things to note – just like Tesla’s other factories – this one will say “S 3 M I” on the roof, and the facility's sheer size is enormous. You can see the line of trucks parked outside, which look like toys compared to the size of the building.

We’d love to see what it takes to get a Tesla Semi built, so hopefully we can expect a Semi build video or Semi factory tours once the facility is up and running.

Tesla recently added support for YouTube Music and Amazon Music in its most recent update – 2024.26.3. Tesla now offers 9 music services in its vehicles: Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Online Streaming (through LiveOne, formerly Slacker Radio), Caraoke, TuneIn, and traditional FM radio.

That’s quite a slew of options, but there are a few popular services remaining — notably SiriusXM and Pandora. While Tesla doesn’t cover every niche, this list now covers most users.

Amazon Music - Free Tier

On the music front, we recently reported that Tesla may soon offer Apple Music with Hi-Fi support, but it seems like Hi-Fi support isn’t being included with Amazon Music – even with a Premium subscription. However, unlike Spotify, which requires a premium subscription to play on a Tesla at all, Amazon Music can be played in a free tier.

In the free tier, you’ll be able to access music, curated playlists, Amazon Radio, and podcasts. You’ll still have ads, and you won’t be able to pick the specific songs you want. The next tier, Amazon Music Prime (through Amazon Prime), will provide you with ad-free music, and song selection. Both services are limited to one device streaming per account.

The highest tier – Amazon Music Unlimited, also provides lossless Hi-Fi audio and bit-perfect Hi-Fi, but not in Teslas. We could hope that this changes in the future, and Amazon and Tesla expand their offerings to include Hi-Fi audio in-vehicle. In terms of streaming, there are individual and family plans, supporting one device or up to six at once for the Unlimited tier.

YouTube Music

YouTube Music doesn’t offer lossless or offline support but does come bundled with YouTube Premium – which you can use by logging into the YouTube app on your Tesla to get ad-free video.

There is an individual plan for single-device streaming and a family plan for up to 5 concurrent devices.

Interface Commonality

One of the nicest things that Tesla has done here is to make the interfaces between the streaming services very similar. This means that each music service has a consistent, similar, Tesla-orientated interface. You can swap through them and maintain the same basic set of controls. Tesla works hard to integrate third-party services and we’re use many users will enjoy these additional streaming options.

Both of these services are available without Premium Connectivity while on WiFi or connected via a phone’s hotspot, but they require Premium Connectivity to stream while on LTE.