“There won’t be any Model Y ‘refresh’ coming out this year,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this year. “I should point out that Tesla continually improves its cars, so even a car six months newer will be a little better.”
Aside from constant software updates, expect substantial improvement Updated Model Y will land in the first quarter of 2025. Efficiency and performance will be improved, and new cushioning will improve the ride. Inside, more main controls will move to the touchscreen including the gear selector, 360-degree acoustic glass will be introduced and rear passengers will get entertainment screens for streaming content, gaming and climate control.
All of which will be analyzed and debated in that manic way peculiar to Tesla followers. However, not everyone who ends up in a Model Y has a say. In fact, some of them can’t even speak. However, they have exerted a powerful influence on the car’s design and concerns for their well-being have reportedly contributed to the delay in the car’s launch.
Yes, apparently the car’s “narrow third row” is being redesigned to be more comfortable. more dog friendly and therefore potentially more popular in China, where its domestic rivals have more spacious interiors. This is an unusual admission and one that raises the question: How many automakers actively consider canine needs when developing new models?
Dog purchasing power
“Our approach is to be feature agnostic. We’re trying to make a great car that people can find uses for,” says Andrew Wheel, director of production design and quality at Jaguar Land Rover. “We have always been conscious of the fact that versatility and flexibility are key USPs.”
There isn’t a single automaker that isn’t obsessed with the “lifestyle” attributes of their products. Some of this is marketing nonsense, of course, but many of us have dogs in the family unit, and larger breeds definitely crave space.
On this basis some interesting innovations have been produced. Tesla offers a “dog mode” that allows owners to maintain a comfortable temperature in the cabin while leaving their vehicles. This is monitored via a mobile app and live camera, while passers-by are appeased by the cabin temperature displayed on the car’s main screen along with an explanatory graph. Note that the power windows do not operate in dog mode, to avoid accidentally pressing the buttons, although that takes the idea of canine sensitivity a bit far.