Tesla’s cheapest Model 3 is no longer available

Tesla is no longer selling the sub-$40,000 rear-wheel drive Standard Range version of the Model 3 that has been in the company's lineup since 2023. The most affordable trim is now the Model 3 RWD Long Range that starts at $42,490. The change was first pointed out by Electrek and comes as Tesla announces a year-over-year increase of vehicle deliveries in its third quarter of 2024.

Tesla has slashed - and raised - prices numerous times over the past few years as it struggles to retain its pole position in the market. But an increasing number of customers have strayed to other vehicle brands, leaving Elon Musk's company grappling with year-over-year sales decreases.

Tesla also occasionally discontinues certain trims, often without notice or fanfare. Earlier this year, the company stopped offering the $60,990 RWD Cybertruck, the cheapest version of its angular EV truck.

The Model 3 Standard Range, which claimed a 272-mile range on a full charge, used cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells that were produced in China. Those will likely become more expensive to import due to the Biden administration's decision to raise tariffs on Chinese batteries, semiconductors, and critical minerals. It's the only model that, before incentives, came close to the short-lived and long-promised $35,000 Model 3.

Tesla's RWD Long Range costs $3,500 more than the discontinued Standard Range. It's not a huge price gap considering the Long Range gets an estimated 363 miles of range on a full charge, though Tesla has been accused of inflating its range estimates.

Although the Model 3 Standard Range is no longer available for order, Tesla is still working on a cheaper, yet-to-be-announced vehicle for the second half of 2025, which could either be a new car or a more bare-bones iteration of the Model 3.

It remains to be seen how Tesla could further simplify the vehicle to make it more affordable when the newer models already lack drive and turn signal stalks - especially when a more stripped-down version of the Model 3 in Mexico proved to be more expensive than US spec variants.