Tesla prices Model Y standard below $40,000

Tesla debuted more cost-effective versions of its popular Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan on Tuesday.

The Model Y standard variant is priced slightly below $40,000, in keeping with Tesla’s website, and the Model 3 standard starts at around $37,000.

The corporate also released a new edition of its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver assistance system early Tuesday.

The EV maker’s stock closed 4.45% lower.

Over the weekend, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company shared a teaser clip featuring a logo-emblazoned, spinning component that might be anything from a wheel cover to a fan or turbine. The clip ended with the numbers “10/7,” indicating Tuesday’s date for the reveal.

Tesla posted a second clip to X on Sunday showing the outline of a vehicle’s headlights at the hours of darkness.

Shares climbed 5% Monday as the thrill grew online over what the announcement can be, but dipped about 3% on Tuesday. Many investors were hoping for updates on other recent products equivalent to the next-generation Roadster that Musk has promised for years.

The usual variant of the Model Y doesn’t feature a panoramic glass roof, leather seats or the sunshine bars just like the higher-end versions of the SUV. It costs about $5,000 lower than the previous, entry-level version of the Model Y.

The brand new Model Y standard includes a battery that gets 321 miles of estimated range on a full charge, in comparison with the 357 miles of range in a Long Range version with rear wheel drive.

The lower prices may help Tesla attract some buyers after the lack of $7,500 federal EV tax credits, which went away with President Donald Trump’s spending bill. Tesla continues to be facing crushing competition across the globe, including within the U.S., from EV makers, some with lower-priced offerings.

Earlier this yr, Tesla had reportedly been working on a stripped-down version of the Model Y and was aiming for a price closer to $30,000. That was before President DonaldTrump’s sweeping tariff announcements and the elimination of the tax credit.

The corporate hasn’t released a brand new model vehicle on the market because it began shipping the Cybertruck, its angular unpainted steel pickup, in late 2023.

Musk originally promoted the Cybertruck at an “unveiling” event in 2019, where his demo went awry and he shattered a window. The Cybertuck never achieved the extent of recognition of Tesla’s Model 3 sedan or Model Y SUVs and has been the topic of not less than eight voluntary recalls within the U.S.

With its auto sales in a multi-quarter slump, Tesla has been attempting to shift investor attention to its future as a robotics and self-driving automotive business.

The slump has resulted, partially, from a consumer backlash against Musk, his endorsements of far-right political parties and figures, and his incendiary political rhetoric. But it surely’s also because of an aging lineup and increased competition from firms including Volkswagen and BYD.

In mid-October of last yr, Tesla held its invitation-only, “We, Robot” event in Hollywood, where it showed off a low, two-seater Cybercab concept with no steering wheels or pedals. Musk said the driverless automotive would cost about $30,000.

As of the corporate’s second-quarter earnings call, it was not yet in production.

At an event in late 2017, Musk promised Tesla would make a next-generation Roadster, however the vehicle has never moved into production. In 2021, Musk promised the Roadster would have the option to “fly,” and last yr he said the elusive sports automotive was being redesigned in collaboration with SpaceX, his aerospace and defense contractor.

Musk has been promising to show existing Tesla EVs into robotaxis with a software update for a couple of decade.

The corporate currently has human safety drivers in its Robotaxi-branded test and fleet vehicles, unlike robotaxi rivals like Alphabet’s Waymo and Baidu’s Apollo Go.

Within the realm of humanoid robots, Musk has said Tesla’s Optimus robots shall be able to factory work or babysitting your kids, but they’ve yet to hit the market. Meanwhile, competitors like Agility Robotics and Unitree are already selling bipedal, humanoid robots.

Following a brutal first quarter that saw Tesla lose 36% of its value, the stock has been on a tear, jumping 40% within the third quarter. It’s now up 12% for the yr. That stock price increase was aided by Musk, who purchased about $1 billion of Tesla stock himself in mid-September.

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