Spotted: The 7-Seater Tesla Model S Is Real

Although Tesla now sells the Model Y crossover with an optional seven-seat configuration for $3,000, there’s barely any space back there for kids, let alone full-sized adults. If you really need to seat more than five occupants and can’t stretch to the Model X, we’d recommend a more conventional crossover like the Honda Pilot instead.

But now it looks like another Tesla will be offered with a third seating row, and it’s none other than the refreshed Model S. This much is apparent based on flyover footage of the new Model S which was shared on the YouTube channel Gabeincal. In the drone footage, several Model S models are parked alongside one another, with the controversial yoke steering wheel visible.

However, at around the 04:12 mark, a dark silver example of the Model S in the bottom right corner seems to have a tiny third row, visible right below the rear window. It’s made all the more obvious by the light upholstery equipped to this particular example. Perhaps we should’ve known this was coming since Elon Musk himself made reference to a seven-seater Model S on Twitter back in 2019.

With a sedan’s sloping roofline, we have no idea how Tesla has managed to squeeze a third row back there or how much cargo room must have been lost in the process, but unless this is some kind of optical illusion, it’s there for all to see. Three-row SUVs are common enough, but a three-row sedan? They’re pretty much unheard of, with the closest thing being rear-facing jump-seats in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon.

Yes, the Model S does have a liftback body style with a more gently sloping rear window, but even so, we’re pretty sure that your pet hamster’s cage would offer more headroom.

For parents who have limited their offspring to just three, the upgraded Model S is still a hell of a car. The new Model S Plaid Plus not only boasts a 520-mile range but will get to 60 mph in under two seconds and blitz the quarter-mile in just eight seconds. At almost $150,000, it’s by far the most expensive Model S that Tesla makes, but those performance numbers are only available in hypercars. It remains to be seen when the three-row Model S arrives.