Tesla China Leaks Juniper Details; FSD China on Hold (2024)

Chris Zheng, who has previously leaked accurate Tesla news from Tesla China, has posted on X a few unique leaks for Project Juniper – the upcoming Model Y refresh.

So far, we’ve seen a fewleaksofProject Juniperand some fantastic concepts of the vehicle, but nothing firm regarding specs. Let’s see what Chris has for us here – he mentioned the leaks are available here (Mandarin).

Juniper Leaks

Chris mentions that there will be an “adjustment” to the battery size of the new Model Y. We’re not sure whether this means a larger or smaller battery, or a different battery chemistry or size, but in all likelihood, a larger battery would make sense. This is in line with the 10% range improvement we saw on the Model 3 Highland Refresh, which we expect to once again see on the Model Y Juniper Refresh.

The second item of mention is a new, unique 7-seat design intended for China. This one is specifically for China and will be different from the version that is expected to be available in North America and Europe. It seems that Tesla intends to produce 20,000 units of this unique Chinese 7-seater model per month.

It seems the 5-seater Juniper is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2025, while the 7-seater will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2025. That’s quite a gap, but we’re sure the performance variant will land somewhere in the middle of that timeframe.

FSD on Hold

The last item that Chris mentioned is that the FSD test that was supposed to take place in China has been placed on hold. He doesn’t provide details, but we knew that initial testing was supposed to take place sometime this year after Tesla received approval to start testing FSD in China.

As the release of the redesigned Model Y approaches, leaks and additional information are expected, but for now checkout our wishlist for Tesla’s upcoming model.

In Tesla’s upcoming update, 2024.32.3, Tesla has added hands-free support for opening the vehicle’s frunk. This follows the Spring Update (2024.14), which added Hands-Free Trunk support for certain vehicles.

When hands-free trunk support was added earlier this year, it was supported on vehicles that include an ultra wideband chip, which includes the refresh Model S, new Model X, and the 2024 Model 3. Due to the hardware requirement, these will be the same vehicles that support the new Hands-Free Frunk feature. Legacy vehicles without UWB will unfortunately not support either feature due to the hardware requirement. UWB enables far more accurate tracking of the phone key, allowing Tesla to pinpoint its exact location relative to the vehicle.

The Cybertruck interestingly also includes an ultra wideband chip, however, it didn’t include the automatic opening of the gate earlier this year. However, we expect the Cybertruck to also receive the hands-free frunk opening in this 2024.32.3 update or relatively soon afterward.

Update: The Cybertruck is receiving hands-free frunk support in the 2024.32 update as well.

Hands-Free Frunk

The Hands-Free Frunk works similarly to the trunk feature – with an iPhone 11+ and a recent version of the app, you’ll be able to stand in front of your vehicle, and the Frunk will unlatch after sounding a chime. On some vehicles, the frunk will immediately open after being unlatched, however, you’ll need to manually close it.

This new feature isn’t enabled by default – you’ll need to go to Settings > Locks > Hands-Free Frunk to enable it.

At this time, Tesla doesn’t support UWB on Android devices, though both the Hands-Free Trunk and Hands-Free Frunk support will come to Android users in a future app update, according to Tesla.

Exclude Home

With the addition of the hands-free frunk opening, Tesla has also added a new option. You can now choose to disable the automatic opening when your vehicle is located at home to prevent you from accidentally opening. This will apply to the automatic frunk and trunk. In addition, in the Model X, you’ll also be able to disable the self-presenting doors at home. This is a great addition as many people have kept the hands-free feature disabled due to it awkwardly opening in the garage.

In the 2024.32.3 update, Tesla also mentions that they’ve improved the detection of the phone key, which should make the feature more reliable and faster when approaching the vehicle from the front or rear.

Following its recent launch in the United States and Canada, Tesla has launched their referral program in several European countries as well.

The program is available in Germany, Norway, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and possibly others. The program is almost the same as the one available today in North America, with rewards for each referral and a discount for those referred. The cap in Europe is also ten per year.

This program comes right on the heels of a 0% financing offer for the Model Y in Sweden and France. While referrals aren't currently available in Sweden, the 0% financing still is.

European Referrals

The European Referral program accounts for country and local currency, where applicable.

The referral reward program is comparable to the one available in North America. After exchange rates, there is only an approximately 10% difference between the available rewards in the US and EU.

Other Countries

We expect this program to start rolling out to other European countries over the next few days or weeks, as Tesla continues to expand its referral program.