Tesla slashes prices for Australia’s best selling EV by up to $8,500

Despite a hugely successful first quarter of 2024 with more than 12,700 in EV sales in Australia, Tesla has slashed the prices on all variants of the country’s most popular EV, the Model Y electric SUV.

The biggest price drop is a staggering reduction of $8,500 on the price of the top trim Performance model, which is reduced from $91,400 to $82,900, before on roads.

The Long Range version also gets a hefty price cut of $5,500 while the RWD variant is reduced by $1,500.

• RWD – $63,900 (down from $65,400)
• Long Range AWD – $72,900 (down from $78,400)
• Performance AWD – $82,900 (down from $91,400)

The news of the price cut on what is the by far the country’s best selling EV comes as the battle intensifies at the lower end of the market, where GWM has slashed the on-road price of the Ora electric hatchback to $35,990 in a bid to boost its lagging sales in the fact of competition from the MG4 and the BYD Seal.

See: EV price war intensifies as China car makers battle for market share

Tesla has also cut the price of its recently refreshed and better-equipped Model 3 Long Range variant. This model now starts at $70,900 before on-roads which is $1,000 off the launch price back in September.

Tesla’s sales in Q1 2024 grew by 23% compared to the same period last year, but globally it has missed its production targets, resulting in a sharp slump in its share price earlier this week.

Australia and Europe remain its strongest markets, and last week it announced it had delivered its 100,000 EVs after over a decade of operating in the country. Tesla has also rolled out nearly 90 supercharger sites to keep up with the growing demand for charging infrastructure.

Along with the Tesla price cuts comes news of new colour options, which include the Ultra Red which replaces the multi-coat Red as well as a brand new Quicksilver paint. Both of these paints add $2,600 to the price of the car when purchased with the standard white paint.

This would be the first time a sixth colour has been added to Tesla’s official paint options in the configurator which comes in the form of Quicksilver. It was first unveiled in Europe back in 2022 with the opening of Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory.

Another small visual change is to the aero caps on the standard 19-inch Gemini wheels which are now offered in a matte-black colour instead of silver.

These cars are also likely to receive upgrades to the computer on the car as was the case for Chinese-delivered Model Y vehicles back in February. 

At that time, Tesla promoted this hardware by calling it “hardware 4.0” which includes newer cameras in vehicles to allow it to see more of future self-driving capabilities. 

The new price cuts on the Model Y highlight the competition in the EV market that’s starting to take shape.

Tesla is taking this seriously by cutting the price of its recently refreshed and better-equipped Model 3 Long Range variant. This model now starts at $70,900 before on-roads which is $1,000 off the launch price back in September.