Key Takeaways
1. Tesla has received 200,000 preorders for the 2026 Model Y Juniper refresh in China, but actual order numbers may be lower than anticipated, potentially doubling the reported count.
2. Tesla is planning to launch a more affordable Model Y due to disappointing sales of the Juniper facelift, with only about 6,000 units shipped in the week after launch.
3. The new budget Model Y will retain the same battery and drivetrain as the Juniper refresh but will focus on cost reductions in other areas.
4. Tesla’s cost-cutting strategy, known as the “depop” method, simplifies product configurations while keeping key functions, as seen in the affordable Model 3 refresh in Mexico.
5. The budget Model Y is expected to debut in China later this year, aiming to boost sales after the initial demand for the Juniper refresh has declined.
Since the announcement of the 2026 Model Y Juniper refresh, Tesla has reportedly received 200,000 preorders in China while the vehicle was still on the reservation list.
Reservation Discrepancies
However, according to Troy Teslike, an analyst focused on Tesla, the actual order numbers might be “twice as high as the real order count.” This suggests that the Juniper facelift preorders could be lower than Tesla anticipated. In February, when the company sold 30,688 cars in China, it apparently started strategizing to boost sales in this crucial market.
New Model Y Plans
Tesla is reportedly preparing to launch a more affordable Model Y to address the sales of the current Juniper facelift, which have not met its expectations. Unusually, the wait time for the new Model Y in China is quite short. In the week following its launch, only a little over 6,000 units were shipped, falling short of the nearly 10,000 units that were anticipated.
While this might relate to the ramp-up in production and may not indicate a drop in demand, Tesla is taking precautions by planning a budget-friendly Model Y trim.
Cost-Cutting Strategy
Industry insiders have stated that this new version won’t be a smaller or less capable iteration of the Model Y, unlike Tesla’s upcoming Model 2, which is set to debut later this year. Instead, Tesla intends to retain the battery and drivetrain used in the Juniper refresh but will look to reduce expenses in other areas.
This strategy is known as the depopulation or “depop” method. Tesla employs this approach to “quickly introduce products by simplifying configurations while maintaining key functions.”
For instance, the affordable Model 3 refresh released in Mexico featured cloth seats and omitted several features found in the original facelift. In that model, the cloth seats in the RWD version lack heating and ventilation, and several elements such as the rear display, colored ambient lighting, and the lid from the cupholders were removed. Additionally, the depop method makes use of acoustic glass solely on the front windows and eliminates steering wheel heating.
It remains unclear if the anticipated budget Model Y will adopt similar cost-cutting measures, but it is expected to make its debut in China in the latter half of the year to help increase sales once the initial Juniper adopters have largely exited the market.
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