One of Elon Musk’s most interesting ideas was also one of his least discussed. Namely, Tesla wasn’t supposed to do model updates; instead, like software, new updates would go live when they were ready, which would apply both to the software and the hardware.

In theory, this is a fantastic, consumer-first idea. Rather than holding back new, improved tech for a bundle of improvements in the next model year, Tesla would fit them as soon as they’re available, ensuring their cars were always up to the latest standard.

There are significant problems with this, though. For one, it makes it harder to train robots and people to build cars well, as the parts could change week by week, and this seems partially responsible for Tesla’s underwhelming to disastrous build quality. This has also made servicing Teslas and buying and selling them on the secondhand market a pain.

If you’re buying a used Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, for example, there are some versions to avoid and others to seek out, but doing so is relatively easy as the parts only change with the model year. That isn’t true with Teslas, and there are forums dedicated to tracking which weeks Model 3s came with the new, improved seat supports but the old, better seatbelt mechanisms, etc.

And the biggest issue is there are upgrades you can’t do in parts. At a certain point, if you want to simplify and upgrade the wiring and chassis, you can’t do that while keeping everything else the same, and when it’s such a significant upgrade, you ought to make a big deal out of it.

And so, Tesla has found itself doing what every other car maker does, unveiling new, wholly upgraded versions of their models. They did this first with last year’s Model 3 “Highland,” which looks remarkably similar to the previous Model 3 — bar newly facelifted headlights and tail lights — but is an entirely different car. The seats are great, the handling is more dynamic, the steering has gone from weird and ungainly to quick and confidence-inspiring, and the build and drive quality feel like those of a premium car rather than a budget rental. Put simply, they basically fixed everything wrong with the existing Model 3; and with the new “Juniper” update Model Y, they’ve done the same here.

Like the Model 3, the 2025 Model Y has the same profile and general look as the previous version but with a different face and tail. Its new face is sharper and more modern, highly reminiscent of this year’s Cybercab concept, and the rear has a larger diffuser and simplified tail light array with a full-length light bar. It looks good, if somewhat impersonal, and the new Glacier Blue color is beautiful.

The same is true inside, with Tesla’s classic minimalist look, and it should essentially be the same as the previous Model 3 but far better made, with more supportive seats and a new 8-inch rear display. The second-row seats are now also power folding, and it has a physical signal stalk, which they had inexplicably removed.

It’s under the skin that the car will be most impressive though, with a dramatically revised chassis, new tires and suspension, and acoustic glass, meaning the Y should be faster, quieter, and more comfortable than the previous generation Model Y, whilst also having improved range.

The 2025 Model Y will come initially in two trims, neither of which have pricing: the entry-level RWD, with an estimated 290 miles of range, and the Long Range AWD trim, bringing that up to 342 miles.