Earlier this year, reports from China spotted that Tesla was going to start production of a new 6-seater version of Tesla’s Model Y in the coming months. Then in July, Tesla officially teased the model on its Weibo page with an image of the car’s side profile.
Now, the first uncovered versions of the new longer, more spacious model have been spotted on the back of a truck in China.
In a post shared by Tesla enthusiast and news reporter Tslachan on X, multiple Model Y 6-seaters, also known as the Model Y L, have been spotted, revealing key details about the upcoming model with a hint that it could likely be heading to Australia in 2026.
Two Model Y Ls were seen clearly and uncovered on the back of a vehicle transporter truck with one being white while the other showcased a new Gold paint, possibly inspired by the Tesla Cybercab robotaxi.
The cars also show a rear spoiler, similar to that usually seen on the Tesla Model 3 Performance today and while the new Tesla Model Y Performance has not been officially released.
Both of these Model Ys also show a Model Y L badge on the bottom left of the boot lid while the rest of the back of the car is fairly clean.
The image also shows another covered Model Y in front of the gold vehicle which is also likely to be a Model Y L as these cars are expected to be heading to showrooms across the country ahead of imminent launch.
Off the back of this post, one Australian Tesla account holder asked about the potential for this model to come to our market: “When does this become available for sale in AU?”. To which, Tslachan replied: “Next year”.
This could be a sign that this model is likely to be for export markets as well, including right-hand-drive markets like Australia, parts of Southeast Asia and the UK to name a few.
Earlier this month, one of the early test production vehicles was spotted being tested in north-west China.
In that sighting, like the cars seen on the back of this truck, the rear of the car was longer, especially behind the C-pillar.
The Model Y L is expected to be the most spacious SUV that Tesla has made at its Shanghai factory, with initial production already having started as seen by the cars heading to showrooms in the latest report.
The recent regulatory filing for the Model Y L showed that this model will be 186 mm longer than a standard Model Y, bringing the total car’s length to 4,976 mm. That’s mainly due to an extended wheelbase, helping add more space inside the car.
There have been multiple reports on the development of the 6 or 7-seater version of the Model Y this year. Many of these have suggested that it will be first launched in China before any plans for it to be made available in other markets.
In Australia, there are currently a handful of electric models available with 7-seats, which does delay the transition to EVs for some family car buyers.
The new Tesla Model Y in a 6-seat configuration could be appealing for some family car buyers who also want access to a growing supercharger network, making the car quite easy to do family road trips in.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
