- Tesla could be readying a long-rumored six-seater Model Y for sale.
- A longer wheelbase could accompany the new seating arrangement.
- This configuration was speculated to be exclusively for the Chinese market; however, the latest leaks indicate that may no longer be the case.
An eagle-eyed Tesla hacker spotted a brand new configuration for Tesla’s recently refreshed Model Y. While it might not be anything that speed freaks might be interested in (like, say, the hotly anticipated refreshed version of the Model Y Performance), it is something that Tesla’s core crossover-buying demographic might be waiting for.
After poking around the latest vehicle firmware, a security researcher who goes by the moniker GreenTheOnly on X found mentions of a six-seat configuration of the Tesla Model Y like some sort of digital easter egg—something that’s been rumored for a while, but hasn’t been substantiated in any way outside of just rumors. Until now, that is.
If you’ve been following Tesla for some time, you’d know that Tesla is no stranger to just shoving seats in weird places. I mean, the Model Y has had seven seats in the past, after all. That has to make folks wonder: why move from seven to just six?
Model Y Seven-Seat Configuration
Photo by: Tesla
Well, additional rumors suggest that this six-seater will be in a radically different seating configuration than the squish-your-legs seven-seater Model Y of yore. Some news outlets speculate that the six-seat variant of the Model Y could not just be a layout to the configuration of where people buckle in, but could be the first appearance of the long wheelbase Model Y.
This would make the six-seater a 2-2-2 layout, most likely replacing the existing bench seat in the second-row with more spacious captain’s chairs and removing the meme-worthy shimmy that made the third row of the Model Y pretty useless in the past.
It’s looking more likely that this configuration won’t just be a China-market exclusive as originally anticipated. Green didn’t say why, but instead hinted that the six-seater configuration is “unlikely to be China-only” as some originally speculated at first.
As for pricing (or anything else from Tesla on this topic), nothing has been substantiated. It’s worth noting that the six-seater Model X is more expensive than the seven-seater variant, meaning that it could be a substantial multi-thousand-dollar purchase for buyers, especially if a longer wheelbase is at play.
Tesla did say that 2025 will be a year of product launches. So far, we’ve seen the refreshed Model Y, S, and X, and are anticipating that the new “affordable” variant of the 3 and Y platform will be revealed by the end of June.
The problem is that Tesla’s brand image hasn’t exactly made a staggering recovery since CEO Elon Musk turned his focus back to the company and away from politics. So even if Tesla can garner some additional attention with a new LWB Model Y, it may not be able to prop up sales as much as it would like.