2022 Tesla Model Y arrives in Australia ahead of imminent launch
After months of delays, the first Tesla Model Ys have been spotted on Australian soil – suggesting a launch may be just weeks away.
The first 2022 Tesla Model Y electric SUVs have been spotted in transit on Australian roads – hinting an official launch may be only weeks away, pending no further delays.
Images posted to the Tesla Owners Australia Facebook page show at least two Model Ys perched on the back of a transport truck, travelling down the Hume Highway to Melbourne – rumoured to be official Tesla demonstrator vehicles.
They are the first Model Ys ever photographed on Australian soil – and give our best indication yet of when the hotly-anticipated electric SUV will go on sale, after countless behind-the-scenes delays and factory shutdowns.
First revealed in the US in March 2019, few details of Australian plans for the Tesla Model Y surfaced until mid-2021, when local Tesla service staff and various industry insiders began to be advised of an on-sale date in the final months of 2021.
The car was granted compliance with Australian Design Rule regulations in September 2021, with further details emerging in October – but the expected late 2021 or early 2022 launch timing came and went, with no official word on when orders would open.
Few new details surfaced in the months after, though Tesla began to battle new COVID-19 lockdowns in China which hit the brakes on production at the brand’s Shanghai plant, where Australian Model Ys will be manufactured (alongside the related Model 3 sedan).
However, after pricing leaked online in early April, and the Australian Model Y order page briefly became public soon after as Tesla tested the website, a launch was believed to be imminent.
While still to be officially confirmed, one theory suggests the two Model Y examples snapped are bound for Melbourne as official Tesla demonstrators, to assist a sales launch in the coming weeks or months.
The only Q2 #Tesla ship for Australia has arrived in Port Kembla. It is rumoured to be carrying 150-200 Tesla which were earmarked as demo vehicles and either partially or fully assigned to customers instead.
— VedaPrime (@VedaPrime) June 5, 2022
These cars were built in March and April in Shanghai
Archive Image pic.twitter.com/jrnO0jLp5Z
They are believed to have arrived as part of a shipment of 150 to 200 cars that docked over the weekend – rumoured to be the first batch of Tesla cars to reach Australia since March, and the last before the next shipment arrives sometime after July.
Official details will be confirmed once orders open, however government certification documents list three Tesla Model Y variants for Australia: the entry-level, rear-wheel-drive ‘Model Y’, mid-spec, all-wheel-drive Model Y Long Range, and flagship Model Y Performance.
Leaked pricing from early April – and the brief period in which Tesla’s order page was open a few days later – all suggest the Model Y will launch in rear-wheel drive and Performance trims only, priced from as little as $65,500 plus on-road costs (or $67,990, according to the leaked prices).
Entry-level cars are slated to feature 220kW electric motors on their rear axles, connected to 62kWh battery packs for 455km of WLTP driving range and a 6.9-second 0-100km/h time.
The Performance – priced from $90,900 plus on-road costs and Luxury Car Tax, according to the official order page – is slated to receive dual motors and an 82.8kWh battery for 393kW combined, closer to 600km of range, and a 0-100km/h time of about 3.7 seconds.
Meanwhile, a Long Range variant is due at a later date, with 378kW from the Performance’s dual electric motors, and more than 610km of WLTP range from its 82.8kWh battery (but more efficient wheels and tyres).
For everything we know so far about the new 2022 Tesla Model Y, click here to read Drive’s earlier coverage. Stay tuned for all the latest updates.
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