The 2026 Tesla Model Y Performance has officially landed in the United States, one month after debuting in Europe and just hours before the $7,500 federal tax credit ended. The refreshed version of the fastest Model Y costs $59,130, including the destination fee and mandatory order fee, making it $8,500 more expensive than the Model Y Long Range All-Wheel Drive and $2,500 more expensive than the Model 3 Performance.
On Sept. 22, TikTok user @legacy7mama posted a video asking her viewers if she has reason to worry that she will no longer receive a tax credit, likely referring to the Clean Vehicle Tax Credit under the Inflation Reduction Act. I ordered my 2026 Tesla Y on Sept. 9. It's not here yet. I have nine days left in the month until I don't get the tax credit, she explained. So I'm slightly freaking out. Okay. I'm really freaking out.
In August, I planned to drive from the Bay Area to Los Angeles County and back to help my friend move. We needed a rental car that had sufficient storage space and wouldn't rack up a big gas bill. My friend suggested a Tesla Model Y because its driver assistance technology would make the seven-hour trek south - my first long-distance drive - easier.
The complaints detail owners' experiences with a 12 V power failure and inoperable doors, trapping children or dogs in cars on hot days. In most cases, the car suffered a power failure after the parent had placed the child in the back seat, and in four instances, the only way to free the trapped occupants was by breaking a window.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into claims that Tesla's door handles become inoperable in certain situations on Model Y SUVs. The safety agency's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) revealed the probe on Tuesday, after having received nine reports from owners who were unable to get into their cars. ODI writes that the most common scenario involves parents who exit their car and cannot open the rear doors to remove their children. In four of those cases, according to the ODI report, owners had to break a window "to regain entry into the vehicle."
Since then, the Model Y has fended off challenges from major automakers like Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai, and Kia to become one of the top-selling vehicles in the world. Tesla sold nearly 1.8 million vehicles last year, and the automaker has an ambitious target of 20-30% sales growth this year.
A CHP motorcycle officer was struck by a Tesla on Interstate 280 today (Sept. 8), resulting in multiple lane closures on southbound 280 near Page Mill Road in Palo Alto, CHP said. The officer was dispatched to clear an electric leaf blower that was between the two left lanes of southbound 280, according to Officer Jovita Ojeda. The officer was performing a traffic break by swerving in the lane to slow other motorists down so he could retrieve
A California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer suffered major injuries Monday afternoon when he was struck by a motorist on Interstate 280 near Los Altos Hills, according to the CHP. The crash happened around 1:40 p.m. in southbound lanes of I-280 south of Page Mill Road, the CHP said in a news release. At the time, the officer was conducting a traffic break to remove an electric leaf blower that had fallen between the two left lanes.