2026 Tesla Mannequin Y Customary: Minimize-price electrical SUV and cheaper Mannequin 3 revealed
Take a look at our newest merchandise
Tesla might have axed plans for a smaller entry-level electrical car (EV), but it surely has now unveiled a budget-oriented variant for its two hottest fashions. The unhealthy information is that they’re just for the US and gained’t be out there in Australia – not less than for now.
Each the Mannequin 3 mid-size sedan and Mannequin Y mid-size SUV – Australia’s hottest EV – at the moment are out there in North America in a brand new ‘Customary’ trim, which strips again a number of options in any other case commonplace within the two battery-electric automobiles, for a lower cost.
Following the top of the US$7500 EV tax credit score final month, the Customary variants are the brand new beginning factors for every mannequin line within the US, prompting the previous Lengthy Vary variant to be rebranded because the Premium, which is now out there in rear- and all-wheel drive types.
CarExpert can prevent 1000’s on a brand new automotive. Click on right here to get an ideal deal.
The Mannequin 3 Customary is priced at US$36,990 earlier than on-road prices in North America (~A$56,352), which effectively beneath US$42,490 earlier than on-roads (~A$64,730) worth of the newly named Premium RWD.
The Mannequin Y Customary, in the meantime, prices US$39,990 earlier than on-roads (~A$60,396), which is equally lower than the Premium RWD’s worth of US$44,990 earlier than on-roads (~AU$68,561).
For context, the Mannequin 3 begins at $54,900 earlier than on-roads for the bottom RWD in Australia, whereas the Mannequin Y begins at $58,900 earlier than on-roads. If US pricing is something to go by, the Customary variants might be priced round $45,000 if offered in Australia.
Australian patrons should wait patiently although, as a Tesla Australia spokesperson informed CarExpert there’s “no info on this – it’s a US-spec automotive solely” and that each fashions have been “launched for the US market”.
There have been few exterior tweaks for the Mannequin 3 Customary. 18-inch wheels are commonplace – as they had been on the earlier base RWD, with 19s non-obligatory – whereas gray, white and black are the one exterior paint colors out there. And white and black will value further.
Inside, full leather-based seat trim has been swapped out for partial ‘textile’ upholstery, the rear touchscreen has been eliminated, and the powered steering column adjustment is now not, although the indicator stalk has been re-added.
Apparently, Motor1 additionally stories that the Mannequin 3 has misplaced energy adjustment for its facet mirrors, reverting to a guide association. Nonetheless, a full glass roof stays.
Below the pores and skin is a 69.5kWh lithium-ion battery, offering a claimed driving vary of 321 miles (round 516km). That is down from 363 miles (round 584km) within the Premium RWD however, confusingly, the Customary’s vary is simply 4km shorter than that of Australia’s base RWD mannequin.
Much more complicated are Tesla’s efficiency claims. The American model claims a 0-60mph (0-96km/h) time of 5.8 seconds for the Mannequin 3 Customary, which is in some way significantly slower than the Premium RWD’s 4.9-second declare, regardless of the latter variant being heavier.
Automobile and Driver stories the Customary makes 286hp (213kW), which is equivalent to the US-market Lengthy Vary RWD that turned the Premium RWD, making the 0-60mph occasions appear even much less logical.
This doesn’t fairly line up with Australian specs both, with the bottom RWD producing 208kW for a claimed 0-100km/h time of 6.1 seconds.
In distinction to the Mannequin 3’s minimal makeover, the Mannequin Y Customary has undergone extra drastic beauty tweaks – a few of which had been previewed a couple of months in the past. Most notably, the entrance and rear gentle bars have been all however eliminated, which implies there’s a brand new entrance bumper to accommodate the remoted headlights.
Once more, 18-inch wheels are commonplace, whereas 19s are non-obligatory, and gray is the one commonplace exterior end in a color palette additionally comprising white and black.
Inside modifications are a bit extra drastic than the Mannequin 3’s too, particularly with its redesigned centre console. The textile upholstery is in any other case the identical, as is the indicator stalk and rear touchscreen delete, whereas rear seat heating and entrance seat air flow have additionally been stripped.
In a weird determination, the Mannequin Y retains a glass roof – however solely on the skin. Which means the roof remains to be fabricated from glass, however there’s a conventional headliner inside, full with insulation and sound-deadening, which Tesla informed Automobile and Driver was cheaper than engineering a set metallic roof.
The battery is similar measurement because the Mannequin 3 Customary’s at 69.5kWh, however the claimed 0-60mph dash occasions in comparison with different Mannequin Y variants make extra sense right here. With a claimed 300hp (223kW), the Customary RWD can do it in a quoted 6.8 seconds, which is slower than the extra highly effective (roughly 250kW) Premium RWD’s 5.4-second declare.
Claimed vary is equivalent to the Mannequin 3 Customary at 321 miles (round 516km), however solely on 18-inch wheels. Becoming the 19-inch options drops the declare to 301 miles (round 484km), although each are greater than the bottom Australian RWD variant’s WLTP declare of 466km.
Charging charges are additionally down for each Customary fashions. The place the Premium RWD variants of each automobiles might be DC fast-charged at as much as 250kW through a Tesla Supercharger, the Customary grades can solely be charged at as much as 225kW.
This announcement is simply the most recent in a current slew for the Mannequin Y – the world’s best-selling automotive in 2023. The favored electrical SUV obtained a considerable ‘Juniper’ facelift earlier this 12 months, and the vary was lately bolstered in China by the stretched, six-seat Mannequin Y L.
To this point the long-wheelbase, three-row SUV has solely been confirmed for China, the place each the Mannequin Y and Mannequin 3 are produced for Australia.
MORE: ‘Finances’ Tesla Mannequin Y spied: How EV model will get the worth down
MORE: 2026 Tesla Mannequin Y L: Order books open for six-seat SUV
MORE: Discover the Tesla Mannequin 3 showroom
MORE: Discover the Tesla Mannequin Y showroom
