Tesla Introduces cut-price Model 3

Tesla has launched a new entry-level version of its popular Model 3 sedan in a bid to capitalise on surging EV demand as Australians embrace the technology in record numbers.

The new Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive costs $45,900 (MRLP), undercutting the previous entry-level variant the Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive by $9,000.

Tesla says its new variant retains all the design, safety, software and driving experience of the more expensive stablemate and is now the most affordable way for Australians to own a Tesla.

Importantly, the brand’s proven 62.5 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery carries over, delivering range of up to 572km (WLTP), which is 52km more than its better-equipped stablemate,
and 0-100 km/h acceleration in 6.2 seconds, which is 0.1 seconds slower.

While the new Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive shares the same design language and core technologies as the Premium, it foregoes some features including swapping all-vegan leather seating surfaces with basic textile/cloth inserts, and deleting the 8.0-inch rear passenger touchscreen.

Other deleted features include front seat ventilation, rear seat heating, and two less speakers in the seven-speaker audio system.

The company’s announcement doesn’t specify what else has been removed to achieve the new variant’s much lower purchase price.

Equivalent models in overseas markets also replace the power-adjustable steering wheel with a manual adjustment lever, adopt a more basic ambient lighting setup, and delete the centre console sliding cup-holder covers.

Other notable change on low-cost overseas models includes reduced use of acoustic glass, and standard Aero wheel covers in place of dark-finish alloys.

Even with these changes the new Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive variant is hardly a stripped-out ‘poverty pack’ with standard features including:

• Panoramic glass roof
• Eight-camera vision
• 360-degree parking and Sentry Mode
• Seven-speaker Tesla Audio
• 16-inch first-row touchscreen
• Textile and vegan leather seats
• Heated and electrically adjustable front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• 3 USB-C ports (2 rear, 1 front)
• Wireless phone charging (front)
• Footwell ambient lighting
• 18-inch Prismata wheels
• Adaptive Matrix LED headlights
• Hands-free boot
• Power-folding side mirrors
• Powered tailgate
• Phone-first access with multi-driver memory
• Vehicle to Load (V2L), using Tesla Outlet Adapter
• Over-the-air (OTA) software updates.

The Tesla Model 3 is already Australia’s best-selling electric sedan but its 4,597 sales year-to-date are a fraction of its stablemate the Model Y SUV, which sold 31,454 vehicles over the same period and has been has Australia’s best-selling vehicle outright for the past four months.

In addition to its leading technology and battery range, Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network is a key reason many Australians choose the US-owned but Chinese manufactured EV over its rivals.

Tesla operates more than 1,000 individual Supercharger posts (stalls) across more than 150 active station sites in Australia.

The brand’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is another attraction for some buyers and is available on the new variant for a $149 monthly subscription fee.

Safety is likewise a Model 3 strength, with the new variant carrying over a 5-Star ANCAP safety rating as standard, along with and gets the same five-year/unlimited kilometre vehicle warranty, and eight-year or 160,000 km battery and drive unit warranty.