When Tesla first announced the Model Y in March of last year, four variants of the SUV were planned - the Long Range, Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive (AWD), and Performance models would arrive in 2020, while the cheaper Standard Range variant was planned for 2021. However, it looks like that cheaper model is no longer planned to release, according to CEO Elon Musk.
Answering a question on Twitter regarding whether the model had been canceled, Musk confirmed that the Standard Range variant is no longer planned because its range would be "unacceptably low", as in, under 250 miles. At the time of the original announcement, the company had promised a 230-mile range, so it's interesting that this is no longer considered good enough.
No, as range would be unacceptably low ( — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 13, 2020
Musk followed up saying that the price on the dual motor (AWD) variant had been cut, a change that was spotted over the weekend by Electrek. Previously, the Long Range AWD was available for $52,990 (despite originally being announced with a $51,000 price tag), but now it costs $49,990, a quite significant reduction of $3,000.
The single-motor Long Range model is planned to be available "in a few months", and that will be even cheaper, according to Musk. The model was original announced with a $47,000 price tag, though it could potentially be adjusted to align with the price cut on the AWD version. Musk also said that the range on that model should be "significantly higher" than 300 miles, which is what was originally promised last year. The Performance version, which is also available to order right now, is still $59,990.
