Budget Tesla Model Y Standard set to skimp on battery and motor

UPDATE: The Tesla Model Y Standard and Model 3 Standard have now been announced, and they indeed come with smaller batteries hence shorter 321-mile range, as well as weaker motors that bring slower acceleration than the respective Long Range RWD trims that are now called Premium. The original article follows below...

Tesla is gearing up to release a Model Y Standard trim that will be its cheapest, teasing its hood without a light bar at the front over the weekend.

The light bar is not the only thing that will be removed to hit the lower price point, though. The Model Y Standard would reportedly come with a regular metal roof, textile seats and manual everything, including the folding mirrors, rear seats, or steering wheel.

The lack of other interior accoutrements, such as the console storage or clothing hooks, may not be a dealbreaker, depending on the Model Y Standard price that Tesla decides on. Some insider source have now pointed out that the cheapest Tesla may ship with more significant specifications downgrades than previously thought.

While a less capable suspension has been rumored for a while, now Bloomberg is reporting that "Tesla managed to engineer cost out of the Model Y [Standard] in part by focusing on the battery pack and motor."

This sounds ominously like a range or horsepower decrease may be in store for the Tesla Model Y Standard, or may be even both. The current cheapest Model Y RWD trim comes at a $44,990 price and offers 357 miles of range, while the AWD version runs only 30 miles shorter on a charge.

If Tesla releases a less powerful Model Y Standard with much shorter range on a charge on top of that, the rumored $5,000 price difference with the RWD version may not be worth the sacrifice for many. The Cybertruck RWD trim, for instance, was quickly phased out after Tesla realized that nobody is in the market for a stripped down Cybertruck, despite its $10,000 lower price.

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