Tesla introduced a new base variant for its Model Y crossover electric SUV in the US earlier this week and dropped prices across both Model 3 and Model Y variants.
Tesla has made many shuffles to its pricing and variant structures this year. The newest changes came after the automaker reported lower vehicle production and delivery numbers for Q3 2023.
Tesla kept the same prices for Model S and Model X announced at the start of September. Tesla Model 3 and Model Y prices are now at a historical low since their launch. Add federal and state-level tax credits, and the prices of these lower-end Teslas might surprise you in some states.
The Return of Tesla Model Y RWD in the US
A more affordable Rear-Wheel Drive Tesla Model Y is a long time coming for the company’s US customers. Tesla launched a base Model Y RWD variant in 2021 for a brief period and discontinued it.
It has been around 2.5 years since the potential US customers have been waiting for the most affordable base Model Y variant. The Model Y RWD version returned only after Tesla discontinued the previous Giga Texas-made base Model Y AWD variant last month. The launch also came as Giga Texas production resumed after a month-long break.
The basic specs of the new Tesla Model Y RWD for the US are as follows:
- Range: 260 miles
- Acceleration (0-60 mph): 6.6 seconds
- Top speed: 135 mph
Tesla introduced a base RWD Model Y variant in Canada earlier in April. But this specific Model Y RWD is getting imported from China — made at Giga Shanghai. The one for the US is most probably manufactured at Giga Texas as it was launched after the factory restarted production and the 4680-cell-based AWD variant is still out of sight.
New Tesla Model Y Prices
Tesla has set the price of the new US Tesla Model Y RWD to $43,990. Interestingly, it qualifies for the Federal Tax Credit of $7,500 after which a base Tesla Model Y RWD can cost an all-time low of $36,490.
In states like California which offer multiple clean vehicle rebates and rewards, a Tesla Model Y RWD can cost even less than $30K.
I remember when in 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised a $35K Tesla Model 3, he received a lot of criticism for not delivering on promise. But after a few years, even a costlier Model Y can be had for under $35K.
Tesla also slashed $2,000 on the price of Model Y Long Range AWD and Model Y Performance each. Here are the new prices for all Tesla Model Y variants:
- Tesla Model Y RWD = $43,990 (previous: $46,990)
- Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD = $48,490 (previous: $50,490)
- Tesla Model Y Performance = $52,490 (previous: $54,490)
New Tesla Model 3 Prices
Tesla also reduced the prices of its North American Tesla Model 3 (a legacy version as the rest of the world gets the new Model 3 Highland).
Both the base Model 3 RWD and Model Y Long Range AWD received a price reduction of $1,250 each. The higher-end Performance version of the Model 3 got a discount of $2,250. Here are the new Tesla Model 3 prices after the most recent price drops:
- Tesla Model 3 RWD = $38,990 (previous: $40,240)
- Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD = 45,990 (previous: $47,240)
- Tesla Model 3 Performance = $50,990 (previous: $53,240)
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