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Elon Musk tweets that 7-seater Model Y production starts next month with deliveries in December

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Leaked photo from Elektrek earlier this year would indicate forward-facing.
https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/01/20200118_tesla_model_y_1.jpg

Oh I've seen that picture a hundred times, and honestly if that's why they'll be, I'm not sure you would have anyone pick that if it was the same price! A kid wouldn't even enjoy that leg room. It looks like that, maybe six inches? Even if that's just a crappy picture and it's 8 to 12 inches, that's still EXTREMELY tight in the rear. I honestly think even a seven or eight year old would be unhappy back there, especially in winter months if they have boots or something on. Would be very easy for them to feel trapped and far away from others with those high back seats. Now charge $3,000 more for that... I really don't think people will go for it. I mean horrible airline seats are like 29 inches and people complain about those. Cut that in half and you still have a larger amount then it appears to have in that picture...


Edit: The diameter of the cup holder (for a single cup) is like 2.75 inches or so. Lets give it the benefit of the doubt and say 3 inches. Honestly in that picture it looks like maybe two of those could fit between the seat backs and the 3rd row, that would be 6 inches. Lets say three could fit, that would be 9 inches and would make the angle of that pictures extremely deceiving since right now that seems impossible. NINE inches of room? Not useable.
 
I can do quite a bit with nine inches. But seriously, that's plenty of room for the kids. Still more legroom than the back seat of a FIAT 500.

Man I would feel bad for those kids with that little amount of room... Maybe up till six or seven, but getting older than that and I would think they would start to feel trapped back there unless it's for short around town trips. (I don't have kids though, so maybe they just deal with stuff, lol)
 
What if Tesla changes the roof line for the seven seater? I know this change is unlikely, but a squared off back would make the third row more practical. The ID4 has a squared off back.

I don't see how it is safe for even a small person to have their head so close to the sloping back glass in a third row. Even a small accident would seem to cause contact between head and glass.

Like many people with the Y, I don't get the third row. It's going to be interesting to see what Tesla delivers. I sure would not accept an order without see the new configure.
 
What if Tesla changes the roof line for the seven seater? I know this change is unlikely, but a squared off back would make the third row more practical. The ID4 has a squared off back.

I don't see how it is safe for even a small person to have their head so close to the sloping back glass in a third row. Even a small accident would seem to cause contact between head and glass.

Like many people with the Y, I don't get the third row. It's going to be interesting to see what Tesla delivers. I sure would not accept an order without see the new configure.


They won’t change the shape of the car. And in a couple photos you can see it has explosive headrests. They fire up in the event of a wreak to try to prevent whiplash and they make also be used as a support incase the vehicle flips and the back glass shatters.
 
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They won’t change the shape of the car. And in a couple photos you can see it has explosive headrests. They fire up in the event of a wreak to try to prevent whiplash and they make also be used as a support incase the vehicle flips and the back glass shatters.

Interesting. I wonder how parents will feel about that approach.

I wonder if the third row seat flips to be either forward or rear facing. Rear facing would allow for taller people. However the cutout in the photo suggests the seat is hinged for forward facing only.

In the pic the 3rd row seat size with the cup holder suggest it gets a bit tight by age 5. For scale Sandy Munro sitting in the back takes up about 2/3 of the total available width.
 
Oh I've seen that picture a hundred times, and honestly if that's why they'll be, I'm not sure you would have anyone pick that if it was the same price! A kid wouldn't even enjoy that leg room. It looks like that, maybe six inches? Even if that's just a crappy picture and it's 8 to 12 inches, that's still EXTREMELY tight in the rear. I honestly think even a seven or eight year old would be unhappy back there, especially in winter months if they have boots or something on. Would be very easy for them to feel trapped and far away from others with those high back seats. Now charge $3,000 more for that... I really don't think people will go for it. I mean horrible airline seats are like 29 inches and people complain about those. Cut that in half and you still have a larger amount then it appears to have in that picture...


Edit: The diameter of the cup holder (for a single cup) is like 2.75 inches or so. Lets give it the benefit of the doubt and say 3 inches. Honestly in that picture it looks like maybe two of those could fit between the seat backs and the 3rd row, that would be 6 inches. Lets say three could fit, that would be 9 inches and would make the angle of that pictures extremely deceiving since right now that seems impossible. NINE inches of room? Not useable.

Isn't it obvious that the 2nd row will be on rails and will scoot forward (just like the Model X). Yes, there will be no legroom with the 2nd row pushed back. There is no room in row 3 of the X either with the 2nd row pushed all the way back. When you push the 2nd row forward there will be more space for 3rd row.

It is not clear if that picture was taken with the 2nd row pushed forward, or pushed back. If that picture shows the 2nd row pushed back, then I think there will be plenty of space for children in the 3rd row once you push the 2nd row forward a bit.
 
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Isn't it obvious that the 2nd row will be on rails and will scoot forward (just like the Model X). Yes, there will be no legroom with the 2nd row pushed back. There is no room in row 3 of the X either with the 2nd row pushed all the way back. When you push the 2nd row forward there will be more space for 3rd row.

It is not clear if that picture was taken with the 2nd row pushed forward, or pushed back. If that picture shows the 2nd row pushed back, then I think there will be plenty of space for children in the 3rd row once you push the 2nd row forward a bit.

Maximum legroom in the Model Y is only like 5 inches more than in the Model 3. So push those seats forward 5 inches and you're now at Model 3 space for the second row. Model 3 already is kinda tight for normal sized adults for a decently sized trip (think 45 minutes or stuck in city traffic or something). Now that would only be 5 inches to give to the back seats by having the second row pushed forward to Model 3 levels. Again, from that picture it looks like 5 to 6 inches so another five would still be less than a foot. That's still really tight. Yes a kid could fit back there, but if you had a decently tall 10 year old they might start feeling trapped back there with that room. If you slide forward another 5 inches and give that last row maybe 15 inches of leg room (still HALF the economy airline seat space) you now have reduced the second row to 5 inches LESS than in the Model 3, adults probably would have their knees pushed against the front row seats at that point.

This literally looks like it's only good for very young kids, like up to maybe six or seven or an "emergency" trip with older kids that's like 15 minutes or less. That might be totally fine for an free option, but if you're paying $3,000 extra and you already have one kid that's five or six and another not far behind that, I would imagine this option would only work for you for three or four more years before it would be too tight. In addition, Tesla clearly states "room for seven adults", and honestly even a very petite 5 foot woman I think would feel claustrophobic back there unless it was 25 to 30 inches of leg room, which means you need to push those second row forward like 15+ inches (which means you reduce second row leg room to 26 inches!). If these aren't rear facing, I really think they're going to be Porsche or Ferrari style 2+2 seats, which lets be honest, are useless.

I mean the Model Y is only 2 inches longer than Model 3 yet you're fitting another row in there? Yes since it's a hatch back you get some extra room, but again, that roof line DOES slope down still toward the back so you're not able to really use all the Model 3 trunk space as room for that third row.

Also, wouldn't adults need head support? The pop up roll bar is nice, but this seems like a whiplash issue if you were rear ended and didn't have some neck support. Again, Tesla says seven adults....

I might be wrong, but I think those seats were placeholders for testing. Possibly to test load balances/limits when loaded up with dummy weight on the seats or something? I just don't think they'll be forward facing, but I might be wrong. Can't wait for all the youtube videos if they are forward facing though! A lot of 7 adult tests will take place and show people sandwiched in there :p
 
I view the 7-seater as an occasional-use option, i.e., if you need tp pick up some kids from your child's soccer team, or carpool to school / a birthday party, etc. I have 3 kids (all grown now) and a dog, and this wouldn't have cut it for me - neither did any of the 3-row SUV's available in the 90's and 00's - we did three minivans in a row, which were absolutely the perfect family car. I would probably do the same today.
 
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I view the 7-seater as an occasional-use option, i.e., if you need tp pick up some kids from your child's soccer team, or carpool to school / a birthday party, etc. I have 3 kids (all grown now) and a dog, and this wouldn't have cut it for me - neither did any of the 3-row SUV's available in the 90's and 00's - we did three minivans in a row, which were absolutely the perfect family car. I would probably do the same today.

Which makes sense, but $3,000 for the "occasional-use" the van or full size SUV isn't available for the short trip? If it was a no-cost option that makes total sense, but to drop $3,000 more, almost 6% of the total cost of the car for a "once in a blue moon" type thing? In addition, if it's only once in a blue moon, wouldn't rear facing jump seats work too? (Assuming they can get the safety to where they need it)
 
I view the 7-seater as an occasional-use option, i.e., if you need tp pick up some kids from your child's soccer team, or carpool to school / a birthday party, etc. I have 3 kids (all grown now) and a dog, and this wouldn't have cut it for me - neither did any of the 3-row SUV's available in the 90's and 00's - we did three minivans in a row, which were absolutely the perfect family car. I would probably do the same today.

Just goes to show how expensive dogs are.
 
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Isn't it obvious that the 2nd row will be on rails and will scoot forward (just like the Model X). Yes, there will be no legroom with the 2nd row pushed back. There is no room in row 3 of the X either with the 2nd row pushed all the way back. When you push the 2nd row forward there will be more space for 3rd row.

It is not clear if that picture was taken with the 2nd row pushed forward, or pushed back. If that picture shows the 2nd row pushed back, then I think there will be plenty of space for children in the 3rd row once you push the 2nd row forward a bit.

It seems from the photo that the second row seat is ALREADY scooted forward. Look at the large gap between the rightmost edge of the seat and where the seatbelt comes out -- that gap isn't present on current model Ys and it seems that the gap has been created by the seat scooting forward.
20200118_tesla_model_y_1.jpg
 
Which makes sense, but $3,000 for the "occasional-use" the van or full size SUV isn't available for the short trip? If it was a no-cost option that makes total sense, but to drop $3,000 more, almost 6% of the total cost of the car for a "once in a blue moon" type thing? In addition, if it's only once in a blue moon, wouldn't rear facing jump seats work too? (Assuming they can get the safety to where they need it)

Seven seats allows most people with grade school kids to car pool. That alone would have made $3k trivial when my kids were at soccer practice age.

Plus, for most of the world squishing seven people into a Model Y size vehicle is apparently the normal practice. An Escalade type private vehicle just isn't a thing.
 
Which makes sense, but $3,000 for the "occasional-use" the van or full size SUV isn't available for the short trip? If it was a no-cost option that makes total sense, but to drop $3,000 more, almost 6% of the total cost of the car for a "once in a blue moon" type thing? In addition, if it's only once in a blue moon, wouldn't rear facing jump seats work too? (Assuming they can get the safety to where they need it)
Sure, I guess - but the problem with rear-facing seats, to me, is emergency exit, especially if you're hit from the rear and the hatch is crushed closed. Getting out over the top of 2 rows seems problematic to me. Also - leg room would be set, as any movement of the second-row seat forward, would have no affect on third-row leg-room. Which might be more than a forward-facing seat with the second row all the way back, but still probably limited. Either way, I wouldn't want it. I remember getting car sick in the rear-facing third row of my parent's 1977 Pontiac Safari wagon driving to FL from NY.
 
It seems from the photo that the second row seat is ALREADY scooted forward. Look at the large gap between the rightmost edge of the seat and where the seatbelt comes out -- that gap isn't present on current model Ys and it seems that the gap has been created by the seat scooting forward.View attachment 598829
That might just be normal Tesla 'panel gap'. IOW, 'within spec'.....