EV maker Tesla has confirmed that as of Wednedsay this week, a minor price increase will be applied to all variants of its “mass-market” Model 3 electric sedan.
In a note emailed to staff, the company noted that all models – even its fabled (and eventually released but since withdrawn from online sales) base $US35,000 Model 3 – would be subject to the increase.
“Like other car companies, we periodically adjust pricing and available options.
“Today, in the US, Model 3 base prices increased by $US400. This price increase applies to all Model 3 variants, including off-menu Standard Range and Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive.
“Leasing for Model 3 Standard Range Plus continues to be available for $399/month,” the email, that was initially obtained by Electrek, stated.
That means that the base Standard Range model will now cost $US35,400 ($A51,098 at today’s rates).
The Standard Range Plus – Tesla’s cheapest model now for sale online – will be $US39,000 before subsidy and fuel savings ($A57,593 at today’s rates).
Both dual motor models – the Long Range and Performance models – will also be subject to the price rise, with the Long Range now priced from $US49,900 ($A72,028 converted) and the Performance model at $US59,900 ($A86,462 converted).
The Long Range Rear Wheel Drive model, which is also only available off-menu, will also be subject to a price hike now that Tesla is adding Autopilot to this model as standard, also (this has been standard for other variants since late last month).
“Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive will also now include Autopilot in the base price. As a result, the base price of Long Range Rear-WHeel Drive will increase by $1,400 in the U.S. and by $,1000 (or market equivalent) in all other markets where it is available off-menu,” the company states.
The increase in pricing follows the addition of $2,000 to pricing last month when it announced that Autopilot would become a standard inclusion for the Model 3, Model X and Model S.
With the release of the Model 3 onto the Australia market now imminent, how the latest change affects pricing within Australia remains to be seen.
But it won’t be much – while a number of theories exist as to how much it may cost once the online configurator page goes live, it is understood that the carmakers sums hinge on a number of factors including currency conversion rates, shipping and import costs and then if it crosses the LCT threshold (currently $A75,526), potentially an additional 33% cost on top of that.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.