- A cheaper Tesla Model 3 has arrived in Mexico with cloth seats and fewer creature comforts.
- This version of the Model 3 does without several upgrades from the 'Highland' update that arrived last year.
- It's about $4,000 cheaper than a base Model 3 in the U.S. Could it be headed our way?
The world is waiting for more affordable electric cars, but the world's top electric automaker (depending on how China's BYD is doing in any given quarter) hasn't quite delivered on that front. While lower-priced new competitors from General Motors, Kia, Stellantis, Ford and more are right around the corner, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has only vaguely committed to cheaper models amid its newfound focus on AI and autonomous driving technology.
Still, during a July earnings call, Musk reaffirmed that 2025 will bring new EVs that "utilize aspects of the next-generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms, and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up.”
So when we look at this new Model 3 variant that just dropped in Mexico, we have to wonder: is this what he meant? Or is it just a cheaper entryway into the Tesla brand for a burgeoning EV market?
Regardless, meet the cheapest Model 3 that Mexico has ever seen. As spotted by Not A Tesla App, this Model 3 variant drops the vegan leather for cloth seats (I believe for the first time on a Tesla), no rear-facing screen, white-only ambient interior lighting and no options for heated seats or steering wheels. In doing so, it ditches a few updates from the new "Highland" Model 3 that debuted last year.
It's perhaps the most de-contented Tesla ever, more akin to a Toyota Corolla than any sort of premium or luxury car; while it's long been debatable whether the Model 3 even falls into that category, this one assuredly does not.
But is that such a bad thing? I'd argue not at all; in fact, this feels like one of the most basic, bare-bones EVs currently around, and you still get 438 km (about 272 miles) of electric range and a zero to 100 km/h (60 mph) time of just over six seconds.
Best of all, it is indeed cheaper. This rear-wheel-drive Model 3—which does not have a specific name—can be ordered for 749,000 pesos, or about $40,000 in the U.S. at current exchange rates. It's also 50,000 pesos cheaper than the previous Model 3 in Mexico and 130,000 pesos less than the next-most expensive Model 3, the Long Range Dual-Motor All-Wheel-Drive. I'm not sure I'd call Mexico a "developing" market these days, but there certainly is demand for EVs like this down there.
And there's certainly demand for more affordable EVs everywhere these days. So the question is, could this variant come to the U.S.—and does it preview a possible approach for Tesla to offer cheaper options without having to craft entirely new models? Your guess is as good as mine, because Tesla isn't exactly transparent with product plans these days. But I do think there would be a market for such a thing in the U.S., especially given how popular these are for ride-share drivers.
A Model 3 with cloth seats: yes or no? Let us know in the comments.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
