Image: Tesla
Tesla’s Vice President of Engineering, Lars Moravy, has explained why the company’s new entry-level Model Y Standard doesn’t feature the panoramic glass roof found on higher trims.
The discussion started when EV reviewer and YouTuber @ItsKimJava posted on X that, according to a Tesla engineer, the new closed-roof Model Y variant still uses glass — but it’s opaque, meaning owners wouldn’t see through it even if they removed the fabric headliner.
“All glass is not created equal,” Moravy responded. “Remember, the Model Y Premium glass is laminated with silver IR reflective coatings to make it super comfy and reject solar load… the standard is not… plus LOTS of people wanted a closed headliner, always trying to listen (and improve road noise at same time).”
When asked why Tesla went for glass instead of a metal roof, Moravy cited “cost, supply chain and manufacturing efficiency in our factories” as the key reasons.
Image: Tesla
The comments come days after Tesla launched the cheaper Model Y Standard in the U.S. earlier this week, followed by several European markets shortly after. Deliveries for the new variant are slated to begin in November.
The “Premium” version Moravy referenced is what Tesla previously called the Model Y Long Range, which the company rebranded this week alongside the launch of its new Model 3 Standard and Model Y Standard. The base Model Y drops the panoramic glass roof for a closed textile headliner — a move that not only cuts costs but, per Moravy, also addresses customer feedback. The lack of laminated and coated glass likely helps Tesla reduce production complexity while improving cabin noise and heat isolation.
Despite being the lowest-priced Model Y yet, the Standard variant still delivers up to 321 miles of EPA-estimated range, a top speed of 125 mph, and goes 0–60 mph in 6.8 seconds. It’s powered by Tesla’s latest HW4 computer and maintains the brand’s hallmark efficiency and safety.
However, Tesla has trimmed other premium touches to hit its lower price point, including manual-adjust seats and steering, and the omission of ventilated rear seats and the second-row touchscreen found in higher trims.
With deliveries beginning next month, the new Model Y Standard brings Tesla’s most popular SUV to a wider audience — even if buyers have to trade a view of the sky for better insulation and a lower price. Let us know what you think of the Model Y Standard’s closed roof in the comments below.
So rather then retool it for a much superior metal roof, they just throw some cheap glass in there, and a headliner. The worst of both worlds. Fragility of glass, but can't even see through or get light through it. This is the latest actions of a desperate, dying company. Nobody is buying this. These were designed NOT to sell.
Tesla glass roof is designed to be strong and is a key part of its rollover protection, outperforming many metal roofs in crush tests. Company not dying, lol
That's what it's called when a company has negative growth. They're dying. Any shareholder not seriously concerned and voicing this is a delusional cultist, out of touch with reality. Your comment is a good example, where you try to justify their use of a cheap glass roof rather than a more durable, more insulating metal roof, as if this is somehow a good thing, when Tesla's own lead designer admitted it was a design choice simply to save cost. Next they'll be taking away the steering wheel and you'll be trying to tell people how that's actually a good thing – delicious Kool Aid, in fact. Oh wait.
TSLA stock is up 88% over the past year and they broke their worldwide vehicle AND energy storage product sales records last quarter, selling over 497,000 vehicles and deploying 12.5 GWh of energy storage products.
But you think Dking is a "delusional cultist"? LOL
Yep just like yourself. Expiring tax credit, no more regulatory credits. Accounting shenanigans selling their own cars to themselves.. Enjoy this abnormal quarter. It’s all downhill from here. Tesla’s market share cratering. Negative growth especially relative to the industry which is still growing strong. Powerball 2 shady stealth recall as they are catching fire all over the place.. Endless new lawsuits. On and on. The company’s business model is fraud.
Tesla is significantly more than just the Evs that it sells. Learn about all of the other aspects of the company and you might understand that Tesla is doing the opposite of dying.
The reason I don’t talk about that other stuff is because it doesn’t amount to much more than a rounding error on their bottom line and never will.
You are wrong. Time will prove it.
The definition of a cultist. All based on belief. Nothing based on reality.
Cultist: A cultist is a member of a religious cult, characterized by unusual or extreme beliefs and rituals, or a person who exhibits extreme devotion to a particular person, idea, or object.
Nope
Believer: Basically, anyone who holds a strong belief in the truth of something is a believer.
Yep
Our country should be proud of TESLA.
Tesla has the highest profit margin of any auto manufacturer due to extreme value engineering and the minimum redesign of their line up from model S to model 3. Replacing the glass top with a cheaper adhesive installed part with no R&D involved is how the company rolls and maximizes profit.
Selling shïtty repurposed obsolete products to ignorant customers, yeah that’s how the company rolls all right. But people are catching on. And the competition is already caught up. Ahead in a lot of ways. Sales are tanking, especially relative to the rest of the industry. And you’re trying to talk about profit? First of all your statement is false. Ferrari has over 50% profit margins, Tesla’s at like 17% and crashing fast and hard. They’re on the road to negative profits within another two quarters or so. The only differentiating thing they have is their supercharger network. And that’s not exactly a trillion dollar industry. (Lol)
I like the idea of getting rid of the transparent roof since I leave in NM and the summer sun very negatively affects the range of my Long Range Model Y. The inside of the roof gets blisteringly hot and radiates heat into the cabin, making the climate control work harder. If you're listening Tesla, please just make the glass roof optional, replaced with an insulated metal roof.
If it’s really about addressing customer feedback, it should be an option on all trim levels?
Customer feedback is only one aspect of the decision. The complexity of making that an option is significant, and probably won't happen.