Cheaper Model Y price and range specs leak

According to Tesla's finance and engineering heads, it won't be long before the EV maker releases cheaper models that will be similar "in shape and form" to its current most popular cars, the Model Y and Model 3.

Similar doesn't mean the same, though, as the eventual design and specs of the cheaper Model Y have leaked out. A drone overflight of Tesla's Fremont factory has spotted a few body frames that look like the Model Y SUV, and yet the roof area looks smaller compared to Tesla's bestselling crossover vehicle. There is also a frame that looks like it is carrying falcon wing doors, perhaps of the upcoming Model X facelift.

Another sighting depicts a camouflaged vehicle being in tow with the same crossover shape but a more sloping rear, similar to what was spotted in Giga Texas a few weeks back.

This is in line with what Tesla had reportedly prepared to release as the Model 2, its cheapest car, which was said to resemble a shrunken version of the Model Y. Now that Tesla's sales are tanking, and the Model 2 project went on the back burner in favor of the Cybercab launch, it has allegedly reworked the Model 2 design idea to be something it can build on its current production lines.

Lars Moravy said that this is meant to save on manufacturing costs, hence achieve the lowest possible monthly payment for future buyers, instead of introducing a brand-new design that would require significant retooling or building new lines.

Cheaper 2026 Model Y price, specs, and release date

• Under $30,000 after tax credit
• 55 kWh battery
• Cloth seats
• 7 speakers
• No ambient lighting, acoustic glass, panoramic rood, or rear display
• Q4/Q1 release date

Just as the first body frames of the smaller, cheaper Model Y may have started appearing while Tesla factories build the engineering verification vehicles, its specs and pricing have leaked out of China.

Dubbed project E80, the new compact Model Y price may start in the $20,600-$26,000 range there, depending on whose Shanghai Gigafactory sources one chooses to believe. This is much more in line with similar crossovers built by the competition, and at least a 30% cheaper price compared to the Model Y Juniper facelift in China.

Interestingly enough, a few weeks back there was a rumor about a project for a cheaper Tesla vehicle codenamed E41, again out of China, indicating that the US might get a barebone Model 3 as Tesla's most affordable vehicle. During the quarterly earning call, the Tesla CFO revealed that its R&D spending has been focusing on "cheaper models" in plural indeed.

As to how will Tesla achieve this low Model Y price, besides making the crossover smaller, the insiders claim that it will release a stripped-down version of the new Model Y. First off, the battery will be 50-55 kWh, reducing its production costs significantly. The range on a charge is expected to remain similar, though, as it will be much lighter and with smaller wheels.

The usual suspects in terms of design and comfort extras will be gone. Just as Tesla did with the RWD Cybertruck and Model 3, it will introduce the cheaper Model Y with cloth seats that will be neither heated nor ventilated. There will be no rear screen, dual-layer acoustic glass, or multicolor ambient lighting, too, while the number of speakers will be reduced to seven from the current 15 count.

The automatic trunk gate and the panoramic glass roof will be goners as well, but there is no word on the exterior light bars that have become such a distinctive part of the new Model Y design. The RWD Cybertruck ships without light bars, though, so the cheaper Model Y could do away with those, too, depending on how affordable Tesla wants to make it.

In short, the cheaper Model Y will be a "smaller, to be certain" version of the current Juniper refresh, as Elon Musk said about the Model 2 a few quarters back, and a barebones edition in terms of exterior and interior comfort or design features.

Its basic specs like range and acceleration shouldn't differ much, though, while the price is expected to be about 30% lower, which would translate to the coveted $25,000-$30,000 range in the US after the federal tax credit is applied.

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