The reason 7 seats are now coming to the Y

[ElectricAvenue]

I think the reason why the 7 seater model Y is going to start production next month is because the single rear stamping design is probably ready for production at Freemont and with that design it will free up a little more rear interior room for the 3rd seat occupants!

 

[zecar]

Elbow room over the rear tire well would be nice. I assume that the casting is needed for three row safety. But I'm unclear what Tesla is doing here. Looking forward to seeing how the third row works.

 

[ElectricAvenue]

I am also looking forward to see how they do it because it looks really really cramped back there and I don't think they'll release a 3rd row that's not practical.
The slope of the rear roof suggests the heads of the rear occupants can only be adjacent to the heads of the 2nd row occupants which means rear facing only. Unless the single piece rear casting lowers the 3rd row seat by a lot!

 

[PCTAZRichard]

I am also looking forward to see how they do it because it looks really really cramped back there and I don't think they'll release a 3rd row that's not practical.
The slope of the rear roof suggests the heads of the rear occupants can only be adjacent to the heads of the 2nd row occupants which means rear facing only. Unless the single piece rear casting lowers the 3rd row seat by a lot!

Yes, this will be interesting indeed! There DOES seem to be plenty of leg room on my 5 seater, so maybe I’m just no ‘seeing it’ right now wrt how 7 seats fit. Maybe rear facing seats? I’m guessing some reinforcement will be in there too, like it was on the S with rear facing seats.

 

[TomServo]

Sure hope they include 3rd row HVAC ducts unlike the Model S

 

[Radzer0]

I am also looking forward to see how they do it because it looks really really cramped back there and I don't think they'll release a 3rd row that's not practical.
The slope of the rear roof suggests the heads of the rear occupants can only be adjacent to the heads of the 2nd row occupants which means rear facing only. Unless the single piece rear casting lowers the 3rd row seat by a lot!

They could always remove the under storage in the back to get some more leg room and drop the seats. Sitting in a hole in the floor lol

 

[Bikeman]

Forward facing? Rear facing?
You're all wrong. The third row of seats will be side facing. A crow was outside my bedroom window yesterday morning and told me this.

 

[Radzer0]

Forward facing? Rear facing?
You're all wrong. The third row of seats will be side facing. A crow was outside my bedroom window yesterday morning and told me this.

That would sound practical lol. Like the old Ford rangers. A seat the size of a iPad to sit on for a extended trip lol

 

[Bikeman]

... or maybe outside "jump seats" from the 30's. Won't be long before we see what they're really planning.

 

[jmatero]

Forward facing based on the images. See seatbelts and hinges.

 

[garrett5688]

What “room” is being freed up by going from 2 castings plus bracket to 1 casting? This change is overblown. Great for manufacturing, likely imperceptible to a consumer.

 

[zecar]

I guess kids sit in the rear seat with their heads against the rear hatch glass. The third row folds flat, so it seems that the seat cushion depth may be lower than indicated by the underfloor compartment in the current 5 seater. So perhaps the new back end casting does create some more room by allowing more seat depth at the third row.

 

[wr200man]

If you look at how the depressions under the carpeted segments in the cargo area appear. It looks fairly obvious that the seats will be placed rear facing (Seat in the shallow underseat compartment right behind 2nd row) and passenger feet will go into the large underfloor compartment.

My guess is that the casting will not change anything (based on my theory that all engineers are lazy) and that the seats will be available for retrofitting to older models.

 

[garrett5688]

Let’s start other rumors- 7 passengers requires air suspension!

 

[Bikeman]

Let’s start other rumors- 7 passengers requires air suspension!

And Flight Attendants. Maybe there's also room for a galley?

 

[jmatero]

If you look at how the depressions under the carpeted segments in the cargo area appear. It looks fairly obvious that the seats will be placed rear facing.

You'd think that but the pics on their website show front-facing. So do the spy-shots. They're clearly for kids (or smaller adults in a pinch) and will require some sort of sliding and/or flip/fold redesign of the 2nd row seats.

 

[imola.zhp]

Elon told me last night at dinner that they will be forward facing.

 

[Nosken]

In the VIP reveal, 2 people exited the front doors and the remaining 5 people exited the back doors. The rear lift gate was not used.

 

[wr200man]

You'd think that but the pics on their website show front-facing. So do the spy-shots. They're clearly for kids (or smaller adults in a pinch) and will require some sort of sliding and/or flip/fold redesign of the 2nd row seats.

View attachment 600204 View attachment 600205

I stand corrected....I guess that tesla is trying to appeal to the amputee crowd.

 

[qdeathstar]

I stand corrected....I guess that tesla is trying to appeal to the amputee crowd.

They’re people too.