Visitors look at the new Tesla Model Y L (Long Wheelbase) at a showroom in Yeouido, Seoul, on April 8, 2026. Tesla Korea begins sales of the three-row, six-seat electric SUV, with orders reportedly reaching approximately 60,000 units on its official website. (Photo by Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Tesla Model Y L is practically a shoo-in for the U.S. market, say analysts.
The long wheelbase 6-seater will go on sale as soon as Tesla readies U.S. production. “China, Australia, and India are supplied by the factory in China, which will not supply vehicles to the U.S.,” said Sam Fiorani, an analyst at AutoForecast Solutions. “Production of the Model Y L is expected to begin in the U.S. in September, which will lead to sales beginning before the end of 2026,” according to Fiorani.
With a large SUV eliminated from Tesla’s U.S. lineup, the Model Y L effectively fills a gap. “Why the YL for America, now? Because Tesla just ended production of the long-running Model S, and its platform-mate, the Model X, leaving a large, three-row, more-than-five-passenger, SUV-shaped hole in its lineup," said Edward Loh, Head of Editorial for MotorTrend, in an email.
“The YL would solve this problem quite neatly, coming to the U.S. in the wake of the Model X phase-out,” he said. Loh pointed to recent spy photos of a Model Y L in California. “Which appears to be the first time this vehicle has been tested stateside,” he said. (Model Y L as shown on China’s Tesla website.)
Model Y Premium compared to Model Y L.
Credit: Brooke Crothers / Claude AI
Tesla’s current 7-seater option is a nonstarter. The Model Y L fixes a longstanding problem – its extra height, along with the longer wheelbase, contributes to better headroom in the second and third rows, says Loh. “Tesla already tried a three-row, 7-passenger Model Y variant, that inserts two seats in the back of the Model Y, but it’s not very good," said Loh. “We know because we bought one as a test vehicle in our long-term fleet. The third row is practically unusable, and it makes the second row incredibly tight,” he said, adding: “With 6 inches of overall length (mostly in the wheelbase) added to make the [Model Y L], there is a lot more head and legroom.”
Tesla could be incentivized to bring another Model Y variant to the U.S. considering the vehicle’s unfailing popularity. “The Model Y saw strongly higher sales in Q1 and the Tesla brand won back significant market share,” according to a Cox Automotive April 10, 2026 report. “One out of every three EVs sold in Q1 was a Tesla Model Y,” Cox said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made one somewhat cryptic comment about the bigger Model Y coming to the U.S. “This variant of the Model Y doesn’t start production in the US until the end of next year. Might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America," he said in an X post in August 2025. The Model Y L most recently launched in India on April 22. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
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