Tesla Model Y Ultimate Buyers Guide

Last updated 17-Jul-2024

The Tesla Model Y has been available since 2020 in America including the USA, Canada and Mexico, and became available in the rest of the world over the following 1-2 years. There are now many used cars available in most markets and new inventory generally means short delays from order to delivery. We run through the history, the options, what we think are the common issues and make some suggestions on what to buy in our Ultimate Buyers Guide to the Model Y.

A word of caution about YouTube reviews. Tesla make the Model Y in 4 factories now, and there are some notable differences between each, so when watching any review you need to be mindful of the differences. Cars have been built in Texas using 4680 battery cells whereas other factories are using the previous generation batteries. There are also differences in equipment, thingsthat either differ by factory or have changed over time. These are generally small things but can include the differences between Autopilot hardware versions, ultrasonic sensors, and the processor in the Media Control Unit. There are also some country specific difference, such as 2024 cars built in China for China seem to have an interior make over which cars built for export.

This all goes to show the Model Y, which is now Teslas biggest selling model, has many variatiables, a subset of which you can have depending where you live. Each unique model has a reference number and we cover all the codes we are aware of later in this document, and this code can be realtively easily found for your car.

Why the Model Y?

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You may already know the Model Y is the car you want, and this guide may just help you with either the age of the car or the battery/trim choice. The Model Y really does show the accumulated knowledge Tesla have gathered, and as a design it is more resolved than the original Model 3 on which it appears to share much of the detail. This is most readily seen by simply opening the trunk/boot. The hinges on the Model 3 are clunky and look like a design from the 1980s whereas the Model Y are much better. You may think this does not matter, but better design means better durability, less likely to develop creaks, better panel alignment etc. To us, the Model Y is also the sweet spot in the range, even after the Model 3 Highland update, offering few compromises over the Model 3 but has a hatch boot and more space. The performance variants of the other models grab a lot of headlines, but the Model Y is plenty fast enough. The updated MS and MX are still underpinned by older battery cells (albeit new battery packs) and an aging chassis design. For us, the MY is probably the real mass produced car Tesla needed and the sales show this to be the case.

It is worth reflecting briefly on why you might choose one of the other Teslas from their line up. The main alternative to the Model Y is the Model X for practicality, albeit it at a much higher price. Model X cars are expensive and whilst early examples are becoming more affordable, their reliability means they are not a cheap option to own. The cabin space is also similar on 5 seat trim, although the Model X has more storage and can be bought in genuine 6 and 7 seat configurations. For similar money a new Model 3 is an option although while many claim it is as large inside, the rear is still relatively compromised for adults and we feel, as mentioned above, aspects of the design are poor in comparison. This car was designed and implemented at the time when Tesla were on the brink of going under. A used Model S is also an alternative although like the Model X, this is starting to show its age in pre 2021 facelift guise, and even the 2021 facelift is not without its issues.

Market Alternatives

The Model Y is in the hottest segment of all EVs, the compact SUV, and as such has the most competition. Which you chose really depends on what you value most. The competition includes the VW ID4, Ioniq 5, EV6 and even cars such as the BMW iX3 are all very credible cars. The Model Y was slightly expensive for what you get, but Tesla have been consitently dropping prices during 2023 making it more competitive to buy, however the downside of such measures has also massively hurt the residual value.

New or used?

The Model Y is widely available as new, nearly new or used cars, and we've a guide to saving money buying a Tesla which covers the different choices in more detail. The key differences in summary however are:

Depreciation

Depreciation is now a significant factor in Tesla ownership. Some early buyers experienced low depreciation initially and even rising prices however this has now ebded and in general Tesla is in an over supply situation. The reason does not really matter, cars now depreciation rapidly, and whilst that offers potentially good value to the used buyer, even a used one year old Model Y bought a year ago has lost around 20% of its value since then which is not inconsiderable. There is also a lot of choice, so cars approaching out of warranty or have been badly treated need to be very cheap to sell. You can try and protect against depreciationm by leasing, although if the market changes again, locking in the foirecast depreciation may mean you end up over paying. This is no different to buying any other car, except the purchase price may be higher than cars you have bought before.

History of changes

While the Model Y is still relatively new there have been a number of changes and a wide range of variants as we mentioned earlier. The two main areas are the battery which has seen some small capacity upgrades, plus a mixture of LFP and even 4680 battery cells, and the MCU (media control unit) which from late 2021/early 2022 has started to shipped with the later Ryzen processor as used in the 2021 Model S and X.

A rear load cover or parcel shelf was also introduced over 2022 with most production having it by the end of Q2.

The suspension has also been a widely debated topic as the cars do have a firm and unforgiving ride. The suspension has been said to be improved in late 2022/2023 but we've not sure how much of it is really down to changes in spring and damper rates, and how much of the change is down to updates to the tires Tesla use.

For a full list of the changes and in which year see our guide to Tesla model Y history and changes over time.

Battery size and range

The Model Y comes in Long Range AWD and Performance AWD. In some markets a standard range model is or has been available, and this can be in AWD or RWD depending where you are. The performance of the P models over the LR has been largely off the line and once doing above 30 mph there is little in them, and for those reasons we'd suggest the smart choice really is the Long Range. The car is still quick by most standards and the chassis dynamics mean the Performance model is unlikely to ever be a more rewarding drive.

The Model Y is now made at 4 factories, Fremont, China, Berlin Germany and Austin, Texas. German production was originally limited to EU LHD Performance models with LR models starting in August 2022, both using the BT43 battery first seen in the China production cars. Texas uses the first 4680 battery cells as part of a new entry level model. This car has a battery capacity of approx. 67kwh, or about 18% less than the Long-Range model built in Fremont. There is also rumour that Berlin could make its own version of the MY with a structural battery pack and LFP battery with performance below the LR model, but there has beem no evidence of this so far.

The Model Y is one of the more efficient EVs for its size you can buy, but its larger size means as speed increases then the effect on range also increases compared to the Model 3. That said, the LR model is still a very capable long distance car. We advise to work on 10% to 90% as the working range, and in winter assume only 80% of the efficiency. In effect 80% of 80% of 330 miles or 210 miles is worst case in winter. In weather above 10 deg C, and speeds less than 70 mph and 250 miles is readily achievable.

Battery codes

Tesla use 2 different conventions for naming batteries. In the car configuration which you can sometimes access through MyTesla and can see when looking at inventory cars they use a code such as BT37, whereas on formal import paperwork they use a code such as Y5CD. Websites like TMC often discuss the batteries using the Y5CD type codes but potential buyers then have difficulty matching that to inventory in their region as Tesla don't use these codes in their inventory listings. To add further confusion, the the Y5CD is the same as the E5YR battery, the former being the Model Y AWD, the later being the Model 3 Rear wheel drive. The middle letters are what is important. The table below helps match one to the other:

Standard Range and RWD
  • BT41 which is the Panasonic 55kWh battery with 2170L NCA cells, coded 1L
  • BTF1 which is the CATL LFP60 62kWh battery with Prismatic LFP cells, coded 6L
Texas AWD model
  • BT00 which is a 4680 cell battery with a 67kwh capacity
Long Range and Performance models
  • BT37 which is the Panasonic 53kWh battery with 2170 NCA cells, coded 1/1C
  • BT38 which is the LG Chem M48 75kWh battery with 2170 NMC cells, coded 5/5C
  • BT42 which is the Panasonic 82kWh battery with 2170L NCA cells, coded 3L
  • BT43 which is the LG Chem M50 79kWh battery with 2170 NMC cells, coded 5L

Each Tesla has a model code which is a combination of various factors including the battery. There are a surprising number of permutations which we list in the table below. This is important the model code is relatively easy to find in MyTesla just by looking at the image link of the car. From this model code you then determine the battery code and using the table above the alternative battery code if you so wish.

Model codes

Tesla give each model an internal code which changes when updates to the battery or motors occur or when changes such as the addition of a heat pump can make a material difference. We have covered elsewhere how you find your version number but for the Model Y these all start MTYxx. We list the versions, the battery code, and the key performance data.

MTY01 Model Y Standard Range

This was one of the initial Standard Range models that was only available in NA.

MTY08 Model Y Standard Range

This appears to have been a China specific model and the performance rating system is unusual as it is for the local market. Cars are usually tested against EPA and WLTP.

MTY13 Model Y Rear Wheel Drive (RWD)

This is an unusual model code in the sense that Tesla have used two different battery codes, although this does reflect te factory of production. We have seen the odd car reporting the battery from the other factory, we suspect these may be cars that have had a battery swap.

MTY18 Model Y Rear Wheel Drive (RWD)

This model has only been seen against cars built for the China market and as part of the 2024 update. We suspect this may be the reference used on cars with the updated interior that some believe may come to other markets, but is not the Juniper release.

MTY19 Model Y Rear Wheel Drive (RWD)

This model code was first seen in late 2023 as part of the 2024 update and the cars all seemed destined for the North America markets including the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. While RWD MY are often built in Texas, the data suggests this model was only built in Fremont.

MTY23 Model Y Rear Wheel Drive (RWD)

This model code was first seen in early 2024 and therefore is build will have commenced in late 2023 probably with some small model year changes.

MTY14 Model Y All Wheel Drive (AWD)

This is the second model to be made out of Berlin.

MTY03 Model Y Long Range AWD

This is the first Model Y to be built and was destined only for the North American market.

MTY06 Model Y Long Range AWD

This is the revised MY LR with larger BT42 battery. For some unknown reason the cars are still reporting the same range as the smaller battery which we suspect is a data issue at Tesla, or the cars haven't been retested. Texas has also been used to build some of these cars. The cars appear very similar to MTY11, the primary difference is a change in the motors. The MTY06 uses FD00 and RD01 motor codes.

MTY07 Model Y Long Range AWD

While the Fremont production was getting the BT37 then BT42 batteries, China production for Europe and APAC were getting the BT38 for a while before changing to the BT43 battery (using a differnet model code).

MTY09 Model Y Long Range AWD

While the Fremont production was getting the BT37 then BT42 batteries, China production for Europe and APAC were getting the BT38 for a while before changing to the BT43 battery (using a differnet model code).

MTY11 Model Y Long Range AWD

The MTY11 seems to have picked up where the MTY06 stopped, although it uses the same battery. The orimary difference appears to be the Fremont built cars have the motors FD00 and RD01, whilst the Texas cars use FD00 and RD07 motors.

MTY20 Model Y Long Range AWD

The earliest examples een of this car date from Nov 2023 as part of a 2024 model year car. The car has so far only been seen in the China market.

MTY24 Model Y Long Range AWD

This model code was first seen in early 2024 and therefore is build will have commenced in late 2023 probably with some small model year changes. Only seen in the US market.

MTY04 Model Y Performance

The first MYP for the North America Market.

MTY05 Model Y Performance

The updated MYP for the North America Market with a larger battery. Tesla use a mix or rear motors even today.

MTY10 Model Y Performance

This is the MYP model that has been sold in Europe and APAC.

MTY12 Model Y Performance

The Berlin factory opened and the initial mnode it made was the MYP for Europe. Europe has a mixture of Berlin and China production now as the MTY10 is also still available.

MTY16 Model Y Performance

This appears to have been an export model built in Germany and shipped to Taiwan, and the export to Taiwan from Berlin rather than China may be a political measure and not a simple logistical one.

MTY21 Model Y Performance

TBA

It is worth noting that Tesla list performance model specifications with 1 foot roll out. This reduces the time by approx. 0.2s, so this should be added to the 0-60 times to get a comparable time to those of the other models.

Autopilot

All Model Y cars come with Autopilot hardware so the only material choice is the software level installed. Autopilot is standard on most cars; we feel paying extra for Enhanced Autopilot or only a sensible option if you can make use of the features such as extensive use of the lane change and auto parking. FSD is worth very little over EAP except in the US if the car is on the Beta trial. We don't feel the $10k/£8k asking price from Tesla is ever reflected in used car prices.

To determive the Autopilot hardware version, we have produced a Autopilot Hardware Guide, but at the time of writing (July 2023), US production from late May was HW4, China and Berlin appear to have sweitched to HW4 around March 2024 althogh when looking at cars we recommend checking the hardware using our guide.

Options

The model Y is fairly light on options besides colour and interior, there are however many battery and motor permuations. There are however a few to look out for:

Option List

What features does the car have?

To find out what is activated in the car follow this guide on how to find out what hardware versions a Tesla has. Many dealers are now including the required pictures in their adverts and those that do, clearly understand the cars.

Free Supercharging

No Model Y came with unlimited free supercharging for the life of the car. Tesla have however offered a year free supercharging to cars delivered at the end of 2020. It is not clear if this is transferable to new owners within the year, generally speaking since 2017 any free supercharging given to new car buyers has not been transferable.

Key issues

The Model Y was a new platform and Tesla seem to have learnt from a number of the previous issues, however they have also introduced some new ones. Most of the issues are factory issues and not ones that develop over time so the owner or a good condition car is likely to run into fewer problems over time, however getting a car in good condition can be harder than it should be because of Tesla's stance.

Warranty

Model Y cars come with 2 manufacturer warranties. One covers the battery and motor for 8 years and 100k or 120k mile warranty depending on battery size, whichever comes sooner. This covers the owner against failure or battery degradation although Tesla have written into the warranty that that battery losses due to software changes are allowed.

The second warranty is the general car warranty for everything else. This lasts for 4 years or 50k miles, which comes sooner.

What would we buy used?

We feel the Long Range is the perfect balance of range, performance and comfort. The performance models move to bigger wheels which hurts the ride, and are not that much quicker on the move. That said, the RWD models with the LFP battery available in some countries also looks a good buy and a useful saving over the LR model. We'd avoid the Performance model, not because it's bas as such, but we feel the character of the car is more suiteed to the slightly slower models, and the 20" wheels are the least forgiving of all, and if the ride doesn;t get you, a pot hole will probably cause damage to the wheel sooner than later.

You can check the whole market and compare prices between models on our Inventory listings.

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