2024 Tesla Model Y Review
By Damon Minks
| Updated 3 Days Ago
Tesla’s 2024 Model Y is popular on a national and global scale, but MotoPickers is here to help you determine whether the compact electric SUV’s sales figures accurately represent its value, inside and out.
MotoPickers Rating: 8.3/10
The 2024 Tesla Model Y was the world’s best-selling vehicle in 2023, with over 1.2 million sales. Toyota’s RAV4 and Corolla models trailed the Model Y with 1.07 million and 1.01 million sales, respectively.
So, what propelled this success?
Tesla slashed its Model Y’s pricing by as much as $10,000 at certain points, allowing more drivers to go electric and stay competitive in its increasingly cutthroat market, where emerging electric automakers like BYD are coming up fast.
Drivers can also take advantage of the 2024 Model Y’s federal tax credit eligibility worth up to $7,500. This tax advantage is available for each 2024 Model Y trim. The Model Y’s starting price before potential savings is $44,990. By comparison, Tesla’s full-sized Model X SUV starts at $65,990 before estimated savings.
Our review will closely evaluate the practicality, technology, and modern styling that helped create the 2024 Model Y’s national and international popularity. Still, MotoPickers regular readers know that we’ll include a vehicle’s potential drawbacks for a more thorough analysis.
Learn more about the hot-selling 2024 Tesla Model Y below.
Exterior design highlights and lowlights
Tesla has largely kept the 2024 Model Y’s exterior consistent with its past two model-year designs. The exterior is highly distinctive, with an egg-like shape and flat nose striking a balance between form and function in areas like aerodynamics. Some describe the Model Y’s exterior as sportier than its Model X counterpart.
This electric vehicle’s (EV’s) front now features matrix LED headlights with an adaptive high-beam system, automatically dimming your brights during night driving to accommodate oncoming traffic before switching back on when the coast is clear. The 2024 Model Y’s taillights and turn signals also contain an LED design for optimal visibility.
Another change within this popular SUV is Tesla’s decision to ditch the model’s previous silver Gemini wheels for a sharp new black variety. The Model Y’s speedy Performance variant contains 21” wheels and a carbon fiber spoiler. Black plastic trim on the wheel arches supplies this SUV with an extra layer of durability that paintwork won’t provide.
Possible exterior drawbacks
However, for all its exterior design prowess, the Model Y has received reports from customers describing panel gaps, misaligned windows, and paint blemishes, underscoring the significance of evaluating a version you’re considering buying in person rather than exclusively online.
The door handle design might also throw off some, despite Tesla using the configuration since 2012. Instead of traditional pull door handles, the 2024 Model Y’s handles stow themselves within the exterior when not in use, which facilitates greater aerodynamic performance. Model Y passengers enter the SUV by touching the handle with the key fob or smartphone nearby. This setup may require additional planning during winter, as snow or ice buildup can make opening these touch-activated handles more difficult.
MotoPickers’ favorite 2024 Model Y exterior color is gray because it seamlessly blends with black accents around door windows for a more cohesive design. Other available colors include Pearl White, Ultra Red (new), Solid Black, Deep Blue Metallic, and Midnight Cherry Red.
A complete walk-around of the Model Y reveals seven exterior cameras, which form the basis of semi-autonomous capabilities we’ll explore later in our review.
Interior design and comfort
Tesla has significantly upgraded its Model Y’s interior materials to include a premium textile surface within the door panels, which blends seamlessly with adjacent soft suede material. The 2024 Model Y’s interior door handles are also more ergonomic than those of its predecessors, with a more comfortable grip. Door storage areas contain the cargo area’s premium carpet lining.
A separate significant interior enhancement is this SUV’s redesigned dashboard. It ditches the previous fake plastic wood trim, which drew criticism from many, and replaces it with a soft-touch textile material that’s simultaneously durable. The dashboard also features an ambient lighting strip, but unlike many competitors, such as Ford’s Mustang Mach-E and Volkswagen’s ID.4, this lighting doesn’t extend around the entire cabin.
Tesla’s 2024 Model Y’s storage area contains wireless charging pads lined with soft suede material, accommodating two smartphone devices. The armrest opens the center console region’s primary storage space, while a nearby sliding tray offers additional room for smaller items.
Regarding seating, the 2024 Model Y is made of vegan leather, which has become more comfortable while optimizing form using cohesive stitching. This compact SUV’s steering wheel is also thicker, which lowers fatigue during long drives. Tesla has elevated the Model Y’s driver seat position for better visibility while expanding front and rear legroom. The SUV seats up to seven with the Long-Wheel all-wheel drive (AWD) version’s optional third row or five without.
Model Y customers will likely appreciate that the EV doesn’t contain turn signal buttons on one side of the steering wheel. This configuration presents a learning curve in the automaker’s other models, like the Cybertruck.
The Model Y’s cargo capacity is impressive for its compact size, with 30.5 cubic feet (cu. ft.) of cargo room behind the rear row and 76 cu. ft. with the fold-flat seats down. An all-glass roof with layers of acoustic glass fostering less glare, road noise, heat, and UV rays solidifies the cabin’s open feel.
Technology analysis
Most of the 2024 Model Y’s features are exclusively controlled using the interior’s 15” central display touchscreen, which runs popular video games like Stardew Valley. One of this display’s most practical features is dog mode, allowing drivers to set and maintain a safe cabin temperature for their pets while away. The display will show a message in large font communicating dog mode’s active status to give any passing pedestrians peace of mind.
Smartphone integration is another critical component of the 2024 Model Y’s technology. Through the Tesla app, drivers of this electric SUV can remotely lock and unlock their doors, share their keys, precondition climate settings, and more.
Tesla’s decision to downgrade the base version’s cabin speaker system from 13 speakers to seven in the base rear-wheel drive (RWD) version is the most significant downside of the 2024 Model Y’s technology. However, the rest of the Model Y’s trims offer the 13-speaker audio system as a standard feature.
Performance and handling
Going electric generally means faster acceleration due to fewer moving parts, and the 2024 Model Y is no exception. The base Long Range RWD model contains a single motor producing 320 miles of range per charge and a 0-60 MPH time of 6.5 seconds. A Long Range AWD trim contains dual motors with a faster 0-60 MPH time of 4.8 seconds but slightly less range at 308. Drivers can unlock peak Model Y acceleration with the Performance variant’s 3.5-second 0-60 MPH time.
Still, Performance drivers must settle for 279 miles of range per charge, which will suit most daily needs. The 2024 Model Y’s 3,500-lb towing capacity is competitive within its class, beating rivals like Volkswagen’s ID.4 and Hyundai’s Ioniq 5.
Home and public charging
Most EV charging is done overnight at home. Tesla’s Wall Connector supplies up to 44 miles of range per hour. For day charging, a Plug Mobile Connector, compatible with any standard outlet, provides up to 30 miles of range per hour.
Tesla drivers have access to over 2,300 Superchargers, the industry’s gold standard in EV charging. A Supercharger will supply the 2024 Model Y with up to 160 miles of range in as little as 15 minutes. However, despite remaining the US EV industry’s public charging leader, the Supercharger network has sparked some concern following recent changes at Tesla.
Supercharger concerns
In April, Tesla slashed more than 10% of its workforce, including disbanding the entire Supercharging team. Tesla has begun rehiring some Supercharger team members, but a smaller team has some wondering whether the electric automaker will be able to expand its network to match the public’s growing demand for its vehicles.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s co-founder and CEO, posted on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on April 30th: “Tesla still plans to grow the Supercharger network, just at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations.”
Safety and driver assistance
With a comprehensive safety design, the 2024 Model Y lowers roll-over and occupant injury possibilities. Tesla’s methodology for studying and implementing increased safety within this SUV included collecting aggregated data from millions of its customers’ vehicles to evaluate how collisions happen and ways they can be prevented. The electric automaker continually refines the 2024 Model Y’s safety capabilities with wireless over-the-air software updates.
Regarding crash protection, the 2024 Model Y’s rigid body and fortified battery reinforce the cabin’s ability to prevent intrusions, which fosters total airbag inflation. The battery pack’s position and weight reduce roll-over risk while improving emergency avoidance handling via active safety systems. Drivers of this compact SUV also receive a Tesla-exclusive side sill structure, which supports the chassis to better absorb impacts and crumple zones, reducing occupant injury risks.
In the unlikely event of battery damage, Tesla battery packs direct heat away from occupants and the battery to mitigate fire risks and better protect passengers. The media loves to report on EV battery fires nowadays, but from 2012 to 2020, US Teslas were ten times less likely to catch fire per mile driven than their gas-powered counterparts.
The 2024 Model Y’s cameras are placed around the exterior, with the exception of the cabin camera, to provide 360-degree visibility, facilitating easier recognition of vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
Active safety features
Active safety features complementing this hardware include Forward Collision Warning, Active Emergency Braking, Blind Spot Collision Warning, and Lane Departure avoidance—all of which are standard.
Ownership and reliability
Tesla offers 2024 Model Y customers a basic vehicle warranty lasting four years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. This warranty is on par with most competitors in the industry. The battery and drive unit warranty lasts eight years or 120,000 miles, which is considered one of the industry’s best due to its high mileage limit.
Owners of the 2024 Model Y have rated the SUV at 3.8/5 stars on Edmunds, mostly aligning with MotoPickers’ overall score. Drivers have praised this EV’s quiet and fast performance, along with its spacious interior. However, some observed what they considered poor build quality with the SUV’s glass roof and cameras, which reportedly retained moisture after rain, reducing visibility.
One thing many 2024 Model Y drivers agree on is the quality of its semi-autonomous software, Autopilot, and Full Self-Driving (FSD).
Model Y self-driving summary
Autopilot is Tesla’s less capable self-driving software program. Features within this technology include traffic-aware cruise control, which helps you maintain a safe distance from vehicles you’re following via automatic braking and acceleration, and autosteer for lane centering. Autopilot’s auto lane change feature will complete a lane change following the activation of your turn signal, while Navigate on Autopilot performs maneuvers like overtakes.
FSD ups the ante with all of Autopilot’s capabilities, in addition to features such as:
- Autopark
- Summon (moves your vehicle out of a parking space)
- Smart summon (drives the Model Y to your parking lot location)
- Autosteer on city streets, not just highways
- Traffic and stop sign identification and control
However, it’s vital to note that FSD isn’t actually fully self-driving, despite its name, which has caused plenty of controversy. Instead, Autopilot and FSD offer Level 2 autonomy. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) rates autonomous vehicle capabilities up to Level 5. When using Autopilot or FSD, a Tesla driver must keep their hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road to take over during emergency situations if necessary.
Final verdict
It’s easy to see why the Model Y was the world’s best-selling vehicle in 2023. Its price is accessible, considering its advanced technological and performance capabilities, and a federal tax credit sweetens the deal. The 2024 Model Y’s exterior hasn’t received significant changes from previous years, but the redesigned interior’s higher-quality materials make the new version worth a buyer over former iterations.
The 2024 Tesla Model Y is one of, if not the best, compact electric SUVs available today, which is why MotoPickers is scoring it at 8.3/10.