Tesla, facing faltering sales in Europe and across the world (the brand's sales are down by 29.6 per cent year on year in Europe up to the end of October), has decided that the best thing to do is to introduce a cut-price version of the Model Y electric SUV.
How much is this new Model Y?
The new Model Y Standard, as is its official name, is priced from €42,990 in Ireland, and thanks to reduced weight compared to the previous most basic Model Y, it has a slight range boost to 505km on the WLTP cycle.
How is it lighter?
Because Tesla has taken lots of equipment out. Remember the old days of cars with one door mirror? It's the modern version of that. To bring down the Model Y Standard's price Tesla has removed the panoramic glass roof, given the Y simpler suspension (the frequency selective dampers are gone, replaced by regular dampers), taken out the 'BioWeapon' cabin air filter, replaced the man-made leather seats with cloth items, taken out the light bars at the front and rear, downsized the centre console, and removed the electric adjustment for the steering wheel. Oh, and you don't get a physical key anymore either, so you have to use the smartphone app.
What's left?
As standard in Ireland, the Model Y Standard still comes with 19-inch alloy wheels (even though in some other markets around the world 18-inch wheels are standard), as well as remote climate control, plus a dog mode for the air conditioning and a sentry mode for the exterior cameras.
How efficient is it?
Tesla claims 13.1KWh/100km energy consumption, leading to that claimed range of 505km, and of course you still get access to Tesla's Supercharger network.
What about the Model 3?
Yes, there's also a basic Model 3 Standard too, but that hasn't been officially launched in Ireland yet. It follows a similar cost-cutting path as the Model Y Standard, and it's just been launched in Germany, priced from €37,970 with a range of 534km.
When can I have one?
The first deliveries of the Model Y Standard are expected in February.