Telsa Officially Debuts Long Wheelbase Model Y For North America

Now that Tesla has killed off the aging Model X, the brand is without a genuine multi-row family hauler.

To plug that gaping hole in the lineup, Tesla finally brought the long-wheelbase Model Y L to the U.S. market this week. Originally built to appease the chauffeur-driven elite in China last year, the stretched variant rolls out of Gigafactory Texas with an extra six inches between the wheels and a body that reaches nearly two inches taller than the standard architecture.

The biggest changes happen inside the cabin, where the Model Y L adopts a strict six-passenger, 2-2-2 configuration utilizing dual captain's chairs. These mid-row perches fold down at the pull of a lever and create a center aisle to access a third row that actually boasts enough head and legroom to fit a normal human.

Because this is pitched as a flagship commuter, the creature comforts are dialed up significantly over the basic model, adding heating and ventilation to the first two rows, heating to the third row, dual acoustic glass to cut down on road noise, and an updated adaptive suspension setup to manage the extra 140 pounds of structural weight.

Total cargo capacity jumps to 89 cubic feet, and the dash now incorporates a larger 16-inch infotainment panel paired with a small 8-inch screen for the middle passengers.

For the initial rollout, the Austin team is only building a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive variant badged as the Launch Series, carrying a sticker price of $61,990 before a mandatory $1,390 destination charge. Despite carrying a bigger footprint, the drivetrain still manages to squeeze out an EPA-rated 325 miles of range on a full charge and will sprint from zero to sixty in 4.4 seconds.

The price premium puts it $12,000 above a standard all-wheel-drive Model Y Premium, and early buyers won't have the option to lease the truck; Tesla is keeping the configuration limited to straight finance deals or cash buys for the first batch of deliveries heading out this autumn.

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