Tesla has started selling the Model Y in Australia
The Tesla Model Y is finally for sale in Australia, but you'll have to get in quick if you want one this year.
After years of speculation and waiting, Tesla has finally announced actual pricing and availability for the Tesla Model Y.
The Model Y is Tesla's compact crossover vehicle, joining the Model S, 3 and X in Tesla's locally available line-up. Yes, that naming combination does spell what you think it does. You can make your own judgements about Elon Musk's naming choices for yourself.
How much does the Tesla Model Y cost in Australia?
At launch, there are 2 models of the Tesla Model Y available in Australia.
The base rear-wheel drive model starts at $68,900 while the fancier dual-motor all-wheel drive variant will set you back at least $93,900.
That's with just the basic pearl white multi-coat paint. If you want solid black, midnight silver metallic or deep blue metallic paint, you can add $1,500 to those prices. The red multi-coat finish will deplete your wallet by a further $2,900.
When can I get a Tesla Model Y in Australia?
Tesla Australia is taking pre-orders now from its local website. While the company does have sales rooms in specific locations in Australia, those are for service, delivery and test drives. Head there and they will ultimately just redirect you to the website anyway.
In terms of actual drive-away schedules, at launch Tesla is estimating delivery between August and November 2022. Based on current EV trends, you can expect that to blow out considerably given the extreme hype in the EV community for the Tesla Model Y specifically.
That's markedly still better than the wait time for the slightly cheaper Tesla Model 3, mind you, which has a 9- to 12-month lead time on it at the time of writing.
What's the difference between the 2 models?
Aside from the drive configuration, here are the specification differences as per Tesla:
| Acceleration 0–100 km/h | Range (WLTP) | Top speed | Drivetrain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model Y | 6.9 seconds | 455 kilometres | 217 km/h | Rear-wheel drive | |||
| Model Y Performance | 3.7 seconds | 514 kilometres | 250 km/h | Dual motor all-wheel drive |
At launch, there's no sign of a long-range Model Y for sale in Australia in either rear-wheel or all-wheel configurations, although that is a variant that Tesla does manufacture.
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