Tesla Model Y EPA estimates show its Model 3 comparative efficiency

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not release the updated Tesla Model Y estimated range and Miles Per Gallon equivalent (MPGe) numbers when Tesla showed new numbers on their website last month with the $3,000 price cut.

EPA has now updated the organization’s website with the latest Tesla Model Y efficiency numbers that show on an average basis this crossover SUV mileage matches that of its predecessor, the Tesla Model 3 sedan.

Tesla Model Y and Model 3 EPA range and efficiency numbers comparison chart. Source: fueleconomy.gov.

Although the average MPGe for both Long Range AWD Model Y and Model 3 is 121 miles — Tesla Model Y seems to have a bit better mileage when it comes to city driving (127 vs. 124 miles) but its efficiency on highway lags behind a little (114 vs. 116 miles).

Tesla Model Y Performance without the 21″ wheels has even more city driving efficiency than the rest of the variants i.e. 129 miles per gallon equivalent, this is why it has an impressive range of 315 miles, almost equivalent to the non-performance AWD variant’s 316-mile range.

But recently Tesla has discontinued the Model Y Performance variant with the 20″ wheels, currently only the 21″ wheels are available with this top-end variant out of the factory.

Since the launch of the Model 3, Tesla has changed the vehicle naming strategy by totally eliminating the mention of the battery pack size from the car, website, and any promotional campaign.

Tesla now only mentions the ‘range’ of their electric vehicles, as per the automaker’s understanding, this does not confuse the masses about the car’s efficiency, for a layman a term like 75 kWh or 100 kWh would be a bit complicated.

Since both the Model Y and Model 3 EVs have the same EPA efficiency of 28 kWh/100 miles and the ranges of 316 and 322 miles respectively, it is safe to say they have the same battery pack size installed.

According to different calculations, both Model 3 and Model Y have a battery pack of ~75 kWh, Tesla is getting better and better at getting more miles out of the same battery pack with engineering fine-tuning and software optimization.