Every day while sipping my morning cup of tea, I hopscotch the world for headlines (if you get that obscure reference, you and I are the same age!) — headlines regarding the latest cleantech stories to share with readers. One of the places I visit regularly is the EV sub-forum on Reddit. And what to my wondering eyes should appear today? A person contemplating the purchase of a Tesla Model Y SR went online yesterday and discovered that the price for US customers had magically dropped by $2,000. Apparently the Model 3 SR+ is also $1,000 cheaper today than it was yesterday. Here’s what Reddit user Nitrouz9 had to say:
Was just configuring a Model Y on Tesla’s website and I noticed that the price of the Model Y Standard Range has been reduced from $41,990 starting price to $39,990! Still with the full premium interior, not partial premium interior like in the Model 3 SR plus.
Speaking of the Model 3 Standard Range plus, that was also reduced by $1000 from $37,990 to $36,990!
Long Range Model Y still starting at $49,990 which is the same as before.
Seems like now even more people who are budget conscious will be going for the SR Model Y over the SR Plus Model 3, given that the price difference is even less now at $3000.
He then posted this back-to-back screenshot comparison from the Tesla website:
Credit: Tesla
Credit: Tesla
Why is this happening and why now? Techgeek72 seems to have the answer. “Just as all these competitors are coming out. … Tax credits aside, which may change soon, the model Y now has the same starting price as the ID4 and is cheaper than the Ford Mach E. Why take a leap of faith on some other brand, when for the same price you can get the tried-and-true iPhone of electric cars?”
Why, indeed, but there’s no need to search for answers. Is demand for the Model Y and Model 3 soft in the US? Who knows? Who cares? Tesla won’t tell us anything any more, so we can speculate until the cows come home. Suffice to say there are a lot of new EVs coming to market this year. Tesla once had the EV market all to itself, but that is changing quickly.
We can argue ’til we are blue in the face about whether the Ford Mustang Mach-E or the Volkswagen ID.4 are better cars than the Model Y, but that misses the point, which is that the EV revolution is picking up speed. More choices mean more people will find an electric car that appeals to them, and that’s good news. I read somewhere recently there are nearly 300 models of gasoline- and diesel-powered light-duty cars and trucks available in the US at this moment, so it will be a while before the EV space is saturated. And if competition means lower prices, who are we to complain?
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