Tesla has launched the Model Y Rear-Wheel-Drive Standard Range in Europe, and it is surprisingly cheap.
It looks like Tesla has decided to bring the elusive Model Y Standard Range with rear-wheel drive to Europe.
Today, in an update to its online configurator, Tesla has made a new base version of the Model Y available for sale in many European markets.
The new version of the Model Y is listed as “Rear-Wheel-Drive” and features a WLTP range of 455 km (283 miles) compared to the already available Long Range’s 533 km (331 miles) range.
The top speed is the same at 217 km/h, but the 0-100 km/h is much slower at 6.9 seconds.
Where the vehicle really shines is with its price. For example, in the Netherlands, it starts at just €50,000 – €16,000 less than the Long Range version:
That includes VAT of approximately €8,850, and therefore, it starts at about €42,000, and the euro is currently about the same value as the US dollar.
If that vehicle were sold in the US, it would be about $20,000 cheaper than the current cheapest configuration of the Model Y in the US.
In some European markets, this new version of the Model Y is now cheaper than a base Model 3.
Tesla lists the new version of the Model Y in Europe as available from December 2022–February 2023.
The automaker doesn’t specify if the new Model Y Standard Range is built at Tesla Gigafactory Berlin, where Tesla launched Model Y production earlier this year, or if it is being imported from Gigafactory Shanghai, like most Tesla vehicles being sold in Europe right now.
The latter is more likely, but there have also been interesting rumors lately about Tesla getting new LFP battery cells from BYD at Gigafactory Berlin to produce a cheaper Model Y.
Tesla Model Y Standard Range’s weird history
When it comes to the Model Y, Tesla has been stingier with trims and options.
The automaker has primarily only made two versions available: Model Y Long Range and Model Y Performance, which basically have the same powertrain with more performance unlocked in the “Performance” version as well as a few different options.
In North America, Tesla briefly introduced in 2021 a Model Y Standard Range, which had a rear-wheel-drive powertrain and shorter range than the two other versions.
The launch was surprising considering CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla won’t produce the version of the Model Y because he said that the range would be “unacceptably low” at less than 250 miles (402 km).
The Model Y Standard Range had an EPA-rated range of 244 miles (393 km) and a starting price of $42,000.
Then a few weeks after launching it, Tesla stopped taking orders for the model and came back to just two versions of the Model Y in North America.
A few months later, Tesla launched a Model Y Standard Range in China. This one is still available for sale, and it is one of Tesla’s most popular vehicles in the market. It is produced at Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai.
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