Tesla launches a slightly updated Model Y in China

Tesla has launched a slightly updated Model Y in China with an LED light strip, new wheels, and faster acceleration.

It’s not a major update, but it is worth noting.

While all eyes are still on the rollout of the new Model 3, Tesla has quietly released an updated version of the Model Y out of Gigafactory Shanghai.

The update is introducing to Model Y the LED strip around the dash that first appeared in the recently refreshed Model 3.

Here’s the image from the updated online configurator:

The ambient light strip doesn’t look the same as in the new Model 3, but it is very similar and can also be controlled with different colors through the center display.

Tesla also slightly updated the Gemini wheel, which are the standard wheels for the Model Y, with a darker color:

Finally, Tesla also made the vehicle a tiny bit faster with the base Model Y now with a 5.9-second 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration:

Right now, only the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles coming out of Gigafactory Shanghai have been updated.

The vehicles are expected to only be available in markets that get Chinese-made Tesla vehicles, like Asia, Europe, and Canada.

Of note, Tesla advisors have told customers in China that the updated Model Y still comes with the Autopilot 3.0 Hardware rather than the newer HW 4.0 in US-made vehicles.