Tesla Cuts Model 3 Entry Price Below $46,000 in Australia, Adds Vehicle-to-Load Across Lineup

Tesla has reshuffled its Australian lineup, dropping the starting price of its entry Model 3 to just $45,990 before on-road costs. That figure sits nearly 20 per cent under the$54,990 previously asked for the RWD Premium, and it lands well below the roughly $66,000 the Model 3 RWD commanded when it first went on sale in Australia in 2019. The move sharpens Tesla’s pitch against a growing wave of Chinese rivals in a market where EV interest keeps climbing.

The new base Model 3 RWD pairs a 60 kWh battery with 572 km of WLTP range and a 0-100 km/h time of 6.2 seconds. Tesla has equipped it with vehicle-to-load capability through a dedicated adapter, letting owners run external devices off the pack. To hit the lower price, the company trimmed content: the rear passenger touchscreen is gone, ambient lighting has been dropped, and the seats now mix flat-woven textile with vegan leather. First customer deliveries are set to begin from mid-October.

Higher trims pick up their own tweaks. The Premium and Performance versions gain a 16-inch front touchscreen, a dark headliner and a Zen Grey interior option, while the Premium can be specified with new 19-inch Dark Nova wheels. The Performance model’s range rises by 29 km to 600 km WLTP. Separately, the Model Y Performance now starts at $84,900 before on-road costs, down from$89,900, following a production shift to Gigafactory Shanghai. Model Y variants also get quicker, with the Premium Long Range All-Wheel Drive hitting 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds and the Model Y L Premium All-Wheel Drive in 4.5 seconds.

Tesla’s country director, Thom Drew, framed the base Model 3 as the most affordable route into the brand for buyers in Australia and New Zealand, noting it keeps the familiar silhouette, panoramic glass roof, over-the-air updates and Supercharger access. The Model 3 currently ranks seventh among Australian EVs with 4,597 sales through the end of August, a slide from third in 2025, as the larger Model Y holds the top spot and BYD leads on brand volume. A stripped-down Model Y, already offered in the US and Europe, looks likely to follow.