Hi-po electric SUV confirmed: 2025 Tesla Model Y Performance is coming to tackle rising competition from the BYD Sealion 7, XPeng G6, Deepal S07 and Geely EX5

Tesla has confirmed a Performance variant of its updated Model Y is coming this year.

The news was revealed by Tesla executives Franz Von Halzhausen and Lars Moravy on a recent episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, where Moravy confirmed the Model Y would follow the same release cycle of the updated Model 3, which was released in Australia in late 2023.

“We’re starting with the Launch Edition. All the other variants – the Dual-Motor base edition, Rear-Wheel Drive, Performance, seven-seater options – those will come later in the year,” said Moravy.

Deliveries of the updated Model 3 commenced in Australia in late December 2023 before deliveries of the Performance version commenced in July 2024. That suggests we're likely to see the Model Y Performance in Australian showrooms before the end of the year, following the Launch Edition's arrival in May.

No new details were spilt on the Performance variant aside from some minor upgrades across the rang, such as a retuned suspension, an upgraded audio system, a front-facing camera, new acoustic glass, a UV-resistant roof and a drain plug in the frunk that allows it to be used as a cooler.

If the updates handed down to the Model 3 Performance are anything to go by, though, we can expect the Model Y Performance's new drive unit to deliver a circa 22 per cent increase in continuous power, a 32 per cent increase in peak power and a 16 per cent increase in peak torque over its predecessor.

That should see power and torque rise by somewhere in the region of 45kW and 102Nm, as was the case with the updated Model 3 Performance, which also benefited from a 0.3 reduction second in its 0-100km/h time.

As such, we’d expect total outputs on the new Model Y Performance to jump to north of 450kW/750Nm, with a new 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.4 seconds, down from 3.7 seconds.

A seven-seater version of the standard Model Y remains unconfirmed for Australia, however, rumours of a family-sized model going into production have persisted in China – where Australia-bound Tesla’s are built – since last year.

It could be on the cards as Tesla looks to increase its appeal in the face of increasing competition in the mid-size SUV segment from Chinese rivals in BYD, Xpeng, Deepal and Geely.

Tesla sold 465 units of the Model Y last month, an increase of 21 per cent on the previous year as the outgoing version goes into a run-out sale. The entire brand recorded a 33.2 per cent sales decline, however, offloading just 739 cars for the month.

Expect more information on the upcoming Performance and a prospective seven-seat variant to follow the Model Y’s official Australian launch in May.