In April, Tesla began deliveries of the Model Y built at the Texas Gigafactory. The first customers who have had the opportunity to drive it are reservation holders in the Austin area. Among them was the presenter of the Youtube channel Spoken Reviews, who has shared his first impressions. After receiving the car you have provided a lot information about its construction and has carried out an autonomy and recharging test.
After reviewing the car inch by inch, the first conclusion of the video is that Tesla has already perfected the manufacturing process. Model Y shows an “impressive” fit and finish, presenting all the body panels well aligned and without gaps. The paint job has also improved, the finish is smooth as expected. This represents an important advance, considering that the unit analyzed was one of the first 1,700 that came off the production line. Further optimization of production should lead to even better results.
But the most interesting results are in the recharge and autonomy tests. For the first test, the battery was charged in a V3 Supercharger located at Abbott. Battery capacity went from 9% to 50% in just 12 minutes, reaching 80% in 34 minutes, 90% in 40 minutes, and 97% in 50 minutes. Lithium-ion batteries charge up to 80% SoC very quickly, but bringing them to 100% will take much longer. However, this is not the case with this Tesla Model Y, since once it reaches 80%, continues to charge at very high rates.
However, the video shows that the new battery can’t hold the 250 kW for a long time. The power drops even faster than in the case of 2170 batteries, which is reflected in the comments on the video. Among them, there is also the opinion that Tesla has been conservative with the charging speed of these batteries, as was the case with the LFP when they were launched in the first models. Through OTA updates it is possible that Tesla correct load curve, allowing the battery to maintain 250 kW for longer. For now, it is perhaps too early to properly evaluate the new 4680 cells.
Spoken Reviews has also carried out a range test, driving for 322 kilometers (200 miles) at an average speed of 121 km/h (75mph). The calculation of the autonomy in these conditions ensured that the Model Y could reach the 370 kilometers. With the data obtained, the useful capacity of the battery is around 66 kWh, although speculation abounds that it is a larger battery capable of software, although, considering that Tesla has problems building the 4680 cells in quantities significant would be a self-defeating decision.
These are the two videos (in English) of the tests carried out by Spoken Reviews:
