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A better Model 3 for $14,000 less

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When we ordered our Model 3 in February 2022, the cheapest Model 3 in Australia cost $59,900. Last week (October 2026), Tesla started taking orders for a new base Model 3 at $45,900. That's $14,000 less, four years later, even before allowing for inflation. Buyers can get another $350 off with a referral link, like ours, linked in the comments.

So, what do you get for $14,000 less? The new base model goes further and does more than ours did:

  • 572 km of range (WLTP), up from 491 km
  • A five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, up from four years or 80,000 km
  • Hardware 4, Tesla's newer self-driving computer, so it can run Full Self-Driving (Supervised) for a $149 monthly subscription. Ours had Hardware 3, which can't.
  • A 16-inch screen, up from 15 inches
  • A boot that opens itself when you stand behind it
  • Vehicle-to-load (more on that below)
  • Still a tinted glass roof, heat pump, heated front seats and heated steering wheel. In the US, the cheapest Model Y hides its glass roof behind a headliner, but the Model 3 keeps it.

It's not all gains. Ours had heated rear seats, which the new base model drops. A rear screen and ventilated front seats, which ours never had, come on the $54,900 Premium RWD.

Vehicle-to-load (V2L) is the one I'm most excited about. Tesla calls it Powershare. A $145 Tesla Outlet Adapter plugs into the charge port and turns it into a power point, giving up to 3.45 kW. Last December, car camping along the Snowy River, I stood at the back of our Model Y holding the plug of our induction cooktop, with nothing to plug it into. Tesla says every new Model 3 and Model Y delivered in Australia now has V2L, but older models like our previous Model 3 and current Model Y don't support it.

Powershare also includes vehicle-to-home (V2H), where the car's battery powers the house during a blackout. V2H isn't enabled in Australia yet. We could have used it in February 2024, two days into Emerald's nine-day grid outage. Our Powerwall ran flat (our solar wasn't recharging it), and the house lost power. Our standard range car holds about 60 kWh, about the same as four Powerwall house batteries.

What hasn't changed is everything we love about both Teslas we've owned, and the new base Model 3 has it all too:

  • The Supercharger network, with the car planning the charging stops for us
  • Our phone is the key. The app warms or cools the car before we get in, and triggers the car to set our individual preferred seating position.
  • Free software updates over Wi-Fi, adding new features to the car we already own
  • Camp Mode, keeping the air con and our camp fridge running all night
  • Pet Mode, showing passers-by that the pet inside is cool and comfortable
  • Sentry Mode and a built-in dashcam
  • A large frunk, for cables, dirty shoes, smelly laundry or takeaway food
  • Regenerative braking, putting charge back on the way down a hill
  • Autopilot, steering and keeping its distance on the highway
  • Netflix and YouTube on the big screen

We traded in our Model 3 last year, after 91,000 km, for a new Model Y. On our trip last month, we met a nonna at Goulburn who loves her $19,990 BYD Atto 1. New EVs keep getting cheaper and better. If you've been waiting for EV prices to come down, they have.

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33 comments

  1. Stephen Powell via Facebook ↗
    Does the new M3 RWD model feature matrix headlights? The Tesla AU page omits mentioning it on the website, but many media reports say it is standard (I assume from the media release). Otherwise Tesla is great at not making it easy to compare feature for feature.

    I find it interesting that this new Model 3 is $7k cheaper drive away than the BYD Seal Premium (their long range model), 300kg lighter, 70% of the LFP battery capacity of the Seal, yet has a WLTP range that’s 2km more (Seal is 570km, M3 RWD is 572km). Faster AC and DC charging then the Seal, and driver technology that’s constantly evolving, whereas the Seal is pretty much fixed to 2023 technology (they get updates now and then, and they lean heavily on CarPlay and Android Auto).

    Despite featuring a driver display and ultra wide HUD on the Seal you still have to look at the central display for all navigation.

    Needless to say I am test driving a Model 3 on Wednesday.
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    1. Tim Rodgers via Facebook ↗
      Stephen Powell BYD will no doubt update the Seal soon. Prob put the Blade 2.0 battery in it and the range will be 25% better. I agree that the engineering in Tesla's must be better for the reasons you stated, hence I bought one.
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    2. Keith Strib via Facebook ↗
      Stephen Powell I believe the new model 3 variant still the excellent matrix headlights
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    3. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      Good question. Tesla's own Australian comparison table doesn't list headlights for any of the four trims, so I couldn't confirm it there. CarExpert's launch report lists matrix LED headlights as standard on the new base model, which I assume came from Tesla's media release. The equivalent cheaper US model dropped them, though, so it's worth checking on your test drive. Agreed on the software, too: our cars have kept gaining features long after we bought them. Good luck on Wednesday, and let us know how it goes.
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      1. Doniboy Cast via Facebook ↗
        Tesla Tripping will it have Tyre pressure monitoring too? The overseas Standard M3 doesn't have it

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      2. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
        Tesla's Australian page doesn't mention it either way, and I couldn't find it in the launch reports. If anyone finds out, let us know.
        1

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      3. Stephen Powell via Facebook ↗
        Tesla Tripping this article says they DO have it https://www.drive.com.au/news/2027-tesla-model-3-standard…
        1

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    4. Stephen Powell via Facebook ↗
      Stephen Powell drive a new y the other week. Couldn’t get out of it quick enough.
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  2. Andrew Jones via Facebook ↗
    Agree, great value.
    Only 4 years ago the cheapest model 3 was 64k.

    But no fm radio!
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    1. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      Andrew Jones I wonder how that would work at a drive in, without a radio 🤔

      Reply Report

      1. Andrew Jones via Facebook ↗
        Tesla Tripping Drive ins still exist?

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  3. Ric Bates via Facebook ↗
    Why didn't the solar charge your powerwall?

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    1. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      It should have. When the grid went down, the solar stopped too. A technician found that one wire was missing between the Powerwall and the Enphase solar controller. That wire tells the solar to keep running during an outage. It took five minutes to fix, and it has worked in every outage since. Last month the solar kept charging our car through an outage.

      Powerwall hits zero during the grid outage:
      Powerwall hits zero during the grid outage

      Back home with battery power (the fix):
      Back home with battery power

      The grid went out and the car kept charging:
      The grid went out and the car kept charging

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  4. Ben Haynes via Facebook ↗
    My favourite feature on the new base Model 3 would have to be the steel wheels. Durability for our potholed roads in Australia. How many heavy EV's do you see with buckled or cracked alloy wheels? PLENTY. Would you trust a repair on the alloy wheel when it failed in its strongest form from new? Tesla certainly don't, they just sell you a new (expensive) alloy rim. Bravo for the steelies!
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    1. Djordje Medic via Facebook ↗
      Ben Haynes I repaired mine no issues.
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    2. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      Ben Haynes We paid $1300 to replace an alloy rim 😮.

      https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CBaK8zCK2/
      21

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  5. Harry Lowe via Facebook ↗
    The only issue is that the resale value of your 2022 Model 3 has tanked as a result of the price cuts. Did you trade it in with Tesla?

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    1. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      Yes, we traded it in with Tesla in May last year, after 2.7 years and 91,000 km, for $27,000. We might have got $35,000 selling privately, but trade-in was simpler. That was already less than half the $64,340 we paid, even before these price cuts. Bad news for sellers, but great value if you're buying a used EV.

      Selling our beloved Model 3 for $35,000:
      Selling our beloved Model 3 for $35,000

      Farewell to our 2022 Model 3:
      Farewell to our 2022 Model 3

      Reply Report

  6. James Mackintosh via Facebook ↗
    Can someone summarise the post

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    1. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      James Mackintosh The title is a one line summary. Followed by a one paragraph summary. Only read further if you want more detail.

      Reply Report

    2. Stanislav Stanley via Facebook ↗
      James Mackintosh blah... blah.. bla... bla... he bought a new standard version of the car...

      Reply Report

  7. Dan Gillen via Facebook ↗
    Whats stopping you using V2L to power the house? Genuinely interested
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    1. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      Dan Gillen I guess you could connect up house appliances via the V2L power point adapter on the Tesla car. But to properly connect up the whole house Powerwall gateway backup circuit from the car wall charger requires Tesla to enable it via some software update.
      1

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  8. Yanos Ral via Facebook ↗
    EV EMF radiation comes for free!

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    1. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      It's the same kind of "radiation" as your toaster and hair dryer: low-frequency and non-ionising. When European researchers measured seven EVs, the magnetic fields were under 2% of the international safety limit at head height. The petrol car they tested produced them too, about 10% of the limit, because spinning wheels make magnetic fields whatever the fuel.
      https://www.sintef.no/en/latest-news/2014/no-danger-from-…

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      1. Peter Ki via Facebook ↗
        Tesla Tripping my Neoghbour can’t go in her husbands. Instantly feels sick.

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  9. Bayzid Hosen via Facebook ↗
    🇺🇸 PREMIUM TESTERS USA ✨

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    👇 JOIN THE GROUP 👇
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  10. Anthony Evans via Facebook ↗
    What does the large price reduction on new models mean for resale value on older models?
    2

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    1. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      Anthony Evans I’ll take that as a rhetorical question 😉
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    2. Carl Prosser via Facebook ↗
      Anthony Evans resale will be even worse.

      Reply Report

  11. Peter Ki via Facebook ↗
    Still the ugliest cars on the road. Still a hard no. Didn’t like much about them.

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  12. Craig Soares via Facebook ↗
    Ev cars are upgrading tech or reducing prices every 4 to 6 months some even sooner so the resale value isn’t looking the best
    1

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    1. Tesla Tripping eTripping.au
      Craig Soares True. But if you’re looking to sell your old EV so you can buy a new one, I expect the overall difference between both reduced prices is the same.

      Reply Report

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