After a year full of twists and rumors, Tesla has finally revealed its “affordable” cars. Once thought to be new, standalone models, the cars in question are, in fact, just a Model 3 and a Model Y with slightly different looks and some missing features.
Called the Model 3 and Model Y “Standard,” they’ll cost $38,630 and $41,630, respectively, including destination—$5,500 and $5,000 less than their more expensive counterparts.
There’s a lot to unpack here, from the exterior changes to the missing features to the revised drivetrains. Let’s get into it.
The cheapest Model Y will be easy to spot in a crowd of Teslas. Unlike the more premium trims, this one doesn’t have lightbars front or rear to connect the exterior lights. Up front, that area is occupied by the bumper cover, while in the back, there’s no black piece of plastic on the tailgate. The Model 3 is a bit tougher to differentiate, seeing as how it didn’t have lightbars in the first place. The only exterior change, according to Car and Driver, is a front-mounted camera that’ll eventually make its way to the rest of the range.
Then there are the wheels. Up until now, the smallest wheels you could get on either the Model 3 or Y were 19 inches in diameter. But these new versions come standard with 18-inch wheels. While that might be bad news for the design-obsessed, those who prioritize range might actually be excited. Smaller wheels often result in better range for EVs, thanks to their lighter weight.
As Motor1 points out, not even the side mirrors made it out unscathed. According to a comparison chart on Tesla’s website, the Model Y has manual folding mirrors. The Model 3 mirrors, meanwhile, are fully manual, without motors for adjustment (something I’m not sure any other car currently on sale is missing). Tesla really didn’t hold anything back here with the cost-cutting.
Most of the Standard’s savings can be found inside. The front seat ventilation is gone, as is the rear seat heating. There’s no vegan leather to be found, as it’s been replaced by more traditional textile material. The steering wheel adjustment is now manual, and the rear touchscreen for the second-row occupants has been deleted and replaced with vents. There’s also a new center console setup.
Weirdly, the Model Y Standard retains its glass roof, but it’s been totally covered up on the inside by a headliner and a bunch of sound deadening. The company told Car and Driver this was cheaper than developing and installing a fixed metal piece. Why it didn’t just keep the glass roof as-is, I’m not sure. Even weirder, the Model 3 Standard retains its glass roof without any changes.
The normal Model Y comes with either rear- or all-wheel drive, netting drivers 295 horsepower or 375 horsepower, respectively. The Standard is available only with a single motor at the rear, rated at 300 horsepower (more, weirdly, than the more expensive model). Tesla says it can sprint to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds, a fair bit more than the normal car’s 5.4-second estimate.
The Model 3 Standard gets a single-motor rear-drive setup as well, rated at 286 horsepower (the same as the current Model 3 Long Range RWD). Despite the identical power numbers, Tesla quotes a 0-60 time of 5.8 seconds for the Standard, versus 4.9 seconds for the RWD.
The battery in both cars is the same, with just 69.5 kWh of usable capacity. Tesla says both cars can achieve a range of 321 miles on those base 18-inch wheels, or 303 miles on the optional 19-inch wheels. Charging at any of Tesla’s Supercharger sites is also limited to 225 kilowatts—a slight dip from the normal car’s 250-kilowatt capabilities.
The Model Y Standard is the more important car of the two, being one of the world’s best-selling cars and all. The car’s new price puts it right alongside cars like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Hyundai Ioniq 6, but it can’t match the excellent value of something like the Chevy Equinox EV, which offers similar range to these Tesla Standard models but for even less money.
Interestingly, the Model Y Standard is about as expensive as the normal Model Y was before the federal tax incentive went away. This trim will, presumably, be the bridge to fill the gap for buyers who couldn’t previously afford the car without the incentive.
At $38,630 including destination, the Model 3 Standard is a bit more compelling, especially considering its range. By my estimates, it’s now the sixth-cheapest EV on the market, just behind the Toyota bZ4X, which is short on range by about 100 miles versus the Tesla. Considering it performs identically to the Model Y standard, I’m not sure why you’d choose the crossover over the sedan (unless you really, absolutely need that bit of extra space, which most people don’t).
Both cars are already available to order on Tesla’s site, so if this price cut was what you were waiting for, head on over to its configurator and dive in.
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That Model Y looks like it still has all of its delivery protection on it, like it’s waiting for the PDI guy.
This is a price anchoring base model, plain and simple. They got told to build a cheaper model by their investors and phoned it in.
There’s no way they actually expect to sell that many of these, or they’d have removed the expensive piece of glass and replaced it with a plastic filler panel. Something engineered to be cheap has as much margin stuffed into it as possible.
Better solution. Give them 1 inch wheels. that would make them get like 10000 miles of range, right?
this seems like its set up to meet some government fleet regulations. for example the cloth seats. many government/ municipalitys make it illigal to buy vehicles with leather/pleather seats. so is uncle sam about to order millions of tesla model y’s ?
these new versions come standard with 18-inch wheels… The Model 3 mirrors, meanwhile, are fully manual…There’s no vegan leather to be found, as it’s been replaced by more traditional textile material….The steering wheel adjustment is now manual, and the rear touchscreen for the second-row occupants has been deleted and replaced with vents….
I see these as wins. Too bad the doors are electric only, and no manual seats, and AWD isn’t an option, otherwise I’d be looking at a M3 right now.
I recently had a new Model 3 as a rental. Even in a higher spec than these here, it felt anodyne and cheap in places that were very noticeable. The Standard Model Y pictured is so nondescript that it looks like a brand-less filler vehicle used in local print ads or in a mobile based video game.
There’s no vegan leather to be found
This is a phrase that should never have existed, but at minimum should never be uttered or printed again.
Just call it vinyl, because it’s vinyl.
Agreed. Parroting marketing drivel is not good journalism. Call it what it is.
Maybe it’s my imagination, but it seems like they pulled out way more features than necessary to cut the prices by so little.
Anyone imagining a big Elon Musk on-stage reveal for these and someone in the audience calling out “A TRIM LEVEL!?! THAT’S IT!?! YOU CALLED US OUT HERE FOR A…trim level…”
wow Tesla way to phone it in lol
Brings to mind an itty-bitty inflatable arms guy half-assedly tossing his widdle hands randomly around while emitting the slow whiny sort-of fart noise of a balloon deflating.
Exiting – now you can look like a poor fascist!
They gave it the old landlord special and just hastily painted over what was already there
Voldemort
I am predictably underwhelmed. The glass roof thing seems pretty dumb. On the one hand, the headliner and insulation probably helps with the noise and climate control, but that’s also added weight for zero benefit other than development cost. I honestly would prefer textile seats to vinyl, but losing the ventilation is a big minus. Smaller, range-helping wheels should be the no-cost option on EVERY trim level of every EV, in my opinion, so that’s not necessarily bad. The blanditude of the paint options and the expense of getting a different, equally bland, shade of blah is pretty dumb.
without going on at even more length, there’s some neutral-to-good, lots of dumb, and at $41K, I don’t see them selling a lot of these. MAYBE at $31K there’d be an argument for it, but not at that price, not with all the Tesla baggage, and not for driving something that appliance-y.
 Charging at any of Tesla’s Supercharger sites is also limited to 225 kilowatts—a slight dip from the normal car’s 250-kilowatt capabilities.
I can just about guarantee that’s where the slower acceleration comes from. The control electronics somewhere in the HV circuit are cheaper and slightly derated on current, so peak and or sustained power draw is less, meaning while the motors are the same, the actual amount of power the draw over the 0-60 sprint is less, hence the slower acceleration.
Or acceleration is artificially restricted by the software to make it slower so you have to pay more for the next model, or an upgrade to unlock it.
yawn
Wow, it is the anonymous car from a car insurance ad. This is low energy sad.
Until it comes without Elon Musk’s baggage, the cost of ownership will always be too high for me regardless of the price.
I would argue that the Y looks better without the light bar, though.
I came down here to say the same –
Weird choice to make the “cheap” model Y better looking.
This is one of the most embarrassing cars I’ve ever seen. Like, if they made a Saturn version of a Pontiac Aztek and they redesigned it a couple times, this is what it would’ve looked like by 2025.
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