October 08, 2025 by Jamie Edkins
Tesla has just revealed new entry-level versions of the Model 3 and Y, which have fewer features, greater efficiency and a lower price tag. News Editor Jamie Edkins is here to tell you everything you need to know. 
After years of speculation, Tesla has finally revealed two affordable electric cars: the new Model 3 and Model Y Standard. They’re essentially stripped-back versions of the standard cars, and the Model Y also gets tweaked styling.
These cars are only available in the United States for now, with prices starting from 36,990 USD for the Model 3 and 39,990 USD for the Model Y.
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This isn’t just a Tesla Model Y with a bunch of equipment chucked away, it’s just about different enough to stand out as its own model. You get a different front bumper which does without the light bar, and the rear lights are also simplified to cut costs.
Moving inside you get cloth seats, something which we’ve not seen on a Tesla before, as well as a simplified centre console with a massive central storage area and a floating armrest, much like you’ll find in the Tesla Cybertruck. There’s also no glass roof on the Model Y Standard.
The 18-inch wheels are also unique to this car and optimised to be as aerodynamic as possible.
The Model Y Standard still gets all of the desirable features you’d expect from a Tesla though, including the massive central screen, adaptive cruise control which is compatible with Tesla’s full self-driving feature, and an app which can turn your phone into a key for the car.
Changes to the Model 3 Standard are a bit less dramatic. You get 18-inch wheels with aerodynamic covers, but other than that the exterior looks pretty much the same.
It’s a similar story inside. You have similar cloth seats to the Model Y, and eagle-eyed viewers may also notice that the cover for the cupholders has been removed. You also get white ambient lighting instead of the multiple colour options in the regular Model 3.
Tesla didn’t just want these new cars to be affordable to buy, it wanted them to be as cheap to run as possible.
That tweaked bodywork and the new wheels are both there to help make the cars more aerodynamic, and they’re actually more efficient as a result.
At least Tesla says they are. It’s quite tricky to verify this when it won’t tell us how big the battery is. The Model Y Standard has a claimed range of 321 miles, 10 miles more than the standard Model Y rear-wheel drive we get in the UK.
The Model 3 Standard can do 321 miles on a charge, which is two miles less than the basic Model 3 sold on our shores.
Both the Model 3 and Model Y sold here use a 60kWh battery, so for the Model 3 and Y Standard to be more efficient they must either have the same sized pack or smaller.
Yeah, about that…
For the time being, the new Tesla Model 3 and Y Standard are only available in the USA. The Model 3 costs 36,990 USD (around £27,600), and the Model Y costs 39,990 USD (£29,900).
Tesla hasn’t ruled out a UK launch, but if it does end up coming to our shores you can expect to wait a year or two for it.
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