There’s still no $25,000 Tesla, nor even a $35,000 model, but the automaker has introduced two “new” low-price models in hopes of bolstering slowing sales. After all, Elon Musk needs the company to sell 13 million more cars and trucks before he can cash in on that $1 trillion compensation package his hand-picked board authorized.
Other than the lower prices and new trim level designations , though – $38,630 for the new Model 3 Standard, including the mandatory $1,640 destination and order fee, and and $41,630 for the Model Y Standard – the company really isn’t bringing anything new to the table.
The Tesla Standard trims both are rear-drive only and do make Teslas more affordable – the Model 3 Standard starts at $5,500 below the rear-drive Premium while the Model Y Standard is $5,000 under the rear-drive Model Y Premium. the Premium trim designation is new – those models formerly were the Model 3 and Model Y Long Range. the Performance trim remains the top of the line for both models.
Something’s Gotta Give
Making an existing model cheaper rather than developing an all-new, perhaps smaller model to reduce a brand’s entry price means that sacrifices must be made.
The Model 3 and Model Y Standard trims take away things such as customizable, wrap-around interior ambient lighting and full “vegan leather” seat upholstery – it’s now cloth with faux leather trim. Also gone are the power-adjustable steering column, heated rear seats, ventilated front seats, power-adjustable exterior mirrors, the 8-inch touchscreen for the rear-seating area, and the AM/FM tuner (although there’s still 7-speaker audio for playing tunes through streaming services or your connected smartphone).
Seat adjustment controls move from physical buttons to touch-screen only for both Standard trims, and cup holders are no longer covered.
The only exterior colors and grey, white and black, and those last two will cost extra – $1,000 for white and $1,500 for black. Stepping up to 19-inch wheels and tires from the stock 18-inchers will add $1,500 for either model.
The Model Y Standard also loses the panoramic glass roof. It still has a glass roof, but its is covered inside with a full cloth interior headliner so you can no longer see through it. Tesla calls it a “closed glass roof” and says doing it that way was cheaper than retooling for a solid metal roof.
The base Model Y also loses the power-fold feature for the second-row seats and the full-width front and rear LED light-bar exterior lighting.
On both new Tesla Standard models, Autopilot as standard equipment is gone, as is the AutoSteer feature. Both also get downgraded to passive shock absorbers versus the frequency-dependent shocks on the Premium trims.
On the plus side, most of Tesla’s app-based remote functions and controls are still there – including the Dog Mode setting – as are important active safety features such as Sentry Mode, forward collision mitigation, blind spot warning and lane departure avoidance. The hardware’s there for Tesla’s problematic, camera-based “Full Self Driving (Supervised)” feature – but it is an $8,000 option.
Charging and Range
The Model X and Model Y Standards also get smaller batteries – an estimated 69 kWh versus around 75 kWh for the Premium trims (Tesla doesn’t disclose battery capacity, so these are estimates from outside sources) – which affects range and charging capacity, although both remain competitive.
Both are Tesla-rated at up to 321 miles of range (drops to 303 miles with the optional 19-inch wheels) versus 363 miles for the Model 3 Premium and 357 miles for the Model Y Premium.
Maximum charging speed at Tesla Superchargers and other DC fast-charge stations has been reduced to 225 kilowatts per hour for the two Standard models, down from 250 kW for the upper trims. That isn’t terrible, but it does mean a few more minutes at the charger.
The Model 3 Standard is capable of adding as much as 170 miles of range in 15 minutes in optimum charging conditions, versus 195 miles in 15 minutes for the rear-drive Premium trim. The Model Y Standard’s optimal DC fast-charge rate is up to 160 miles of added range in 15 minutes versus 182 miles in 15 minutes for the rear-drive Model Y Premium.
The competition
Because the two new Tesla Standard models are the EV maker’s bargain basement models, they’re most likely to compete mainly on price., and now that federal EV tax credits are gone and the playing field for pricing has leveled, they aren’t leaders in that category.
Nissan’s redesigned 2026 Leaf is expected to start in the very low $30,000s with as much as 190 miles of range, and at least one upper trim level will offer 300 miles of range – albeit at a higher price.
The Chevrolet Equinox EV starts at just under $35,000 for 2025 – and probably won’t go up much for 2026. It’s base trim offers a tad more than 300 miles of range.
And Hyundai has slashed pricing on its award-winning Ioniq 5, with the base standard-range SE (245 miles of range) starting at $36,600, including destination, for 2026, and the long-range SE, with 318 miles of range, starting at $39,100.