A Tesla Model Y for less than 40,000 euros? Thanks to the new Standard version, it’s possible, although Tesla is going completely ‘Back to Basics’ with this car. Literally ‘back’, because this car reverts in several aspects to the pre-facelift Model Y.
Another new version, another new price: I can’t keep up anymore!
Understandable, because Tesla’s pricing policy is hard to follow. The Model Y was initially announced with a price indication of €56,000, but that version was scrapped before introduction. Early buyers in 2021 therefore had to bring at least €65,000 for a Long Range AWD, with the promise that a Standard Range would never come. That one did arrive in 2022, lowering the starting price for the model to €51,000. In ’23 it suddenly became around 47 grand, later Tesla lowered the starting price to €45,000 and 2024 started with a starting price of just under €44,000. With the arrival of the heavily facelifted ‘Juniper’ version in 2024, the whole party started over from the beginning, because this car was also initially only available as an expensive and well-equipped AWD and cost at least €62,000. Since February, however, there has been a rear-wheel drive entry-level model again, which comes in at just under 46 grand. But that variant has now also been scrapped, because it’s making way for an even cheaper version.
Exactly, cheaper. How much cheaper?
The new Tesla Model Y Standard is already available for €39,990, but don’t think you’re not giving up anything for that low price. The Model Y Standard differs significantly optically and technically from the regular Model Y, which from now on incidentally gets the addition ‘Premium’. Everything revolves around that low price and so the car had to be made simpler, after the Model Y with the facelift actually became much more complex. The multi-part tailgate is therefore scrapped again, as are the LED light bars front and rear and the headlights placed low in the nose. The result still looks very different from the first Model Y, but in terms of simplicity and design it does indeed hark back to that car. The wheels are 18 inches, a size smaller than usual, and moreover made of steel, and the ‘frunk’ is barely finished on the inside.
How is the interior of the Tesla Model Y Standard?
Open a door and the ‘austerity’ continues. For example, this is the only Tesla with (partially) fabric upholstery, the only one without a panoramic roof and the only one where you have to adjust the steering wheel manually. The buttons for seat adjustment are also gone, by the way, because that’s now done via the screen. With that, we’ve immediately got the first serious disadvantage, although the pain is somewhat alleviated by the possibility to link the seat settings to your profile.
Too bad, but is there nothing nice left at all?
Certainly there is! Apart from those seat functions, the infotainment system, for example, is identical to that in other Model Ys. So nothing to complain about there, and that actually applies to the rest of the interior as well. The now open ‘compartment’ between the seats might look a bit bare and it’s a pity there’s no ambient lighting, but the materials used are still fine. Moreover, despite all the cutting and scraping, there’s actually still little to complain about regarding the equipment. Autopilot, climate control, and seat and steering wheel heating are, for example, simply present, while the now reduced-to-7-speakers audio system still sounds just fine.
Has the powertrain also been heavily skimped on?
Technically, the Model Y Standard seems very similar to the rear-wheel drive entry-level versions of yesteryear. With a 0-100 km/h time of 7.2 seconds, it is by far the slowest Tesla, but again, if you look at it soberly, you’re not really missing out. It does lack that hilarious directness in the powertrain, which now just makes the car nicely brisk. Fast charging goes up to a maximum of 175 kW, and because the battery is narrower than in a Long Range, in practice you charge roughly the same amount of range in the same time. The range is, notably, 534 kilometers, which is greater than that of the first Model Y Long Range AWD from 2021, all thanks to extremely low consumption.
How economical is the Tesla Model Y Standard then?
With a stated consumption of 13.1 kWh per 100 kilometers, this car is even more efficient than the (current) base version of the Model 3, making it the most economical Tesla there is.
How is that in practice?
We can’t test that out during our short first acquaintance yet, but we can test how the car drives. Even in that area, costs have been saved, because the Model Y Standard does without the advanced, extra comfortable shock absorbers of the regular facelift Y. Instead, it gets a chassis that is presumably just that of the ‘old’ Model Y, and on the road it strongly reminds one of it. So less refinement and less comfort, where particularly short irregularities are sometimes transmitted a bit clumsily. Thanks to the direct steering, low center of gravity, and excellently controllable power delivery and recuperation, the Standard still drives like a real Tesla, although this car simply doesn’t make that step in comfort and refinement that the regular Model Y did with the facelift.
Too bad, but is this cheapest Model Y still worth considering?
The price gap between this Standard and the next version (Long Range RWD) is a truly gigantic €11,000. Compared to those more expensive versions, you sacrifice comfort, refinement, luxury, and speed, and with that, a significant part of the traditional Tesla fun is lost. However, for just under 40 grand, this is an incredible amount of EV, which in terms of electric performance, space, and even equipment still wipes the floor with what you can get elsewhere for this amount.