Tesla’s cheapest Model 3 arrives from $54,900

Tesla has opened orders for a new entry-level Model 3. The Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive is priced from $54,900 plus on-road costs, which is $9000 less than the Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive, and the first New Zealand deliveries are due in late November.

You will be able to see and drive one in Tesla showrooms from mid-to-late October.

It has up to 572km of WLTP range and gets from 0-100km/h in 6.2 seconds. Tesla says the battery pack has been carried over from existing models, but it hasn’t said how big it is.

What you give up, and what you keep

The savings come from the cabin. There is no rear passenger touchscreen, and the seats are trimmed in flat-woven textile and vegan leather. The front seats are still heated and electrically adjustable, and memory settings save to each driver’s phone key.

You still get a 16-inch front touchscreen, a seven-speaker stereo, wireless phone charging, three USB-C ports and footwell ambient lighting. The heat pump, heated steering wheel, powered boot and Sentry Mode are standard too.

On the outside it keeps the panoramic glass roof, front bumper camera, matrix LED headlights, hands-free boot, power-folding mirrors and 18-inch Prismata wheels. Boot and frunk space adds up to 682 litres, or 1659 litres with the rear seats folded.

Pearl White is the no-cost colour. Diamond Black is a $1700 option and Stealth Grey is $2300.

“Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive is the most affordable way for Australians and New Zealanders to own a Tesla, and the most accessible way to experience Full Self-Driving (Supervised),” says Thom Drew, Tesla’s country director for Australia and New Zealand. FSD (Supervised) is a $159 monthly subscription.

It has the same five-star ANCAP rating as the rest of the Model 3 range, along with a five-year unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty and an eight-year or 160,000km battery and drive unit warranty.

Model 3 prices

• Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive: $54,900
• Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive: $63,900
• Model 3 Premium Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive: $71,900
• Model 3 Performance All-Wheel Drive: $86,900

All prices exclude on-road costs.

Updates for other Model 3s

Tesla has also announced 2027 model year updates for the rest of the Model 3 range, which can be ordered now. The Model 3 Premium and Performance get the 16-inch front touchscreen, a dark headliner and a Zen Grey interior option, and the Premium can be had on new 19-inch Dark Nova wheels. The Model 3 Performance’s WLTP range goes up by 29km to 600km.

All new Model 3s, including the Rear-Wheel Drive, get Power Share, Tesla’s name for vehicle-to-load (V2L). It uses the car’s battery to run things like e-bikes, power tools and heaters through the Tesla Outlet Adapter, which is sold separately. Power Share can’t be added to existing cars.