Tesla has in secret added a new option for US customers to its Model Y page: a rear-wheel-drive Model Y that is less expensive than the other models. Buyers will pay $43,990 for it, but with the full $7,500 in tax credits, they might pay as little as $36,490 for the electric car. This model replaces the recently ceased Model Y All Wheel Drive, as noted by Electrek. It is also the most cost-effective Model Y EV, being $3,750 less expensive than the AWD.
According to Bloomberg, the car probably uses lithium-iron phosphate batteries since they are less expensive to produce than high-nickel battery compositions. While it’s plausible that the batteries allow Tesla to offer this variant at a lesser price, Electrek thinks they’re also to blame for the EV’s 260-mile range, as opposed to the 279-mile range of the discontinued AWD Model Y. Nevertheless, earlier research showed that lithium-iron phosphate batteries are more effective and last a lot longer than nickel batteries.
The rear-wheel-drive Model Y has a top speed of 135 mph and a 6.6-second zero-to-60 mph time. Deliveries of the new EV will begin this month and the following; according to Tesla, albeit as usual, consumers will need to pay extra for features like Full Self-Driving ($12,000) and Enhanced Autopilot ($6,000). The manufacturer acknowledged in its most recent quarterly earnings report that its deliveries fell short of Wall Street’s revised forecasts. It is still uncertain whether the new Model Y will enable it to meet its overall target of 1.8 million deliveries for the year.
