New Tesla Model Y Trim Drops Price of AWD $7,000
Key Points
- New base variant drops price for AWD by $7,000
- Mirrors entry-level rear-drive Model Y
- Shorter range; gives up many features
The refreshed Tesla Model Y went on sale for the 2025 model year, but the tech company that dabbles in electric vehicles is still busy filling out the lineup. The latest derivative is a new entry-level all-wheel-drive trim that drops the price of the AWD Model Y by $7,000 compared to the Premium trim. Starting at $43,380 (including a $1,390 destination charge), the base AWD Model Y costs $2,000 more than the standard rear-drive variant.
Related: Is the Cheaper 2026 Tesla Model Y Worth Your Consideration?
Tesla takes a similar approach with this Model Y as it did with the base RWD EV it announced in the fall. Like that Model Y, the entry-level AWD car has less range: Tesla says it gets 294 miles versus 327 miles for the Premium trim (official EPA estimates are not yet available for the Standard AWD version). But whereas the base RWD trim is slower than the Premium, the AWD variant gets the same claimed 4.6-second 0-60 mph time as its Premium counterpart. The base trim also charges slightly slower than the Premium; Tesla says it can add up to 152 miles of range in 15 minutes on a Supercharger versus 169 miles in the same timeframe for its pricier sibling.
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Shop the 2026 Tesla Model Y near you
What Was Lost
Other than those differences, Tesla pulls cost from the entry-level trim. The new Standard AWD trim rides on standard shock absorbers instead of the Premium’s frequency-dependent dampers, and it also gets 18-inch wheels with 19s available versus the Premium’s standard 19s and optional 20s. The panoramic moonroof is gone, replaced by metal, and there’s also no full-width LED light bar across the standard trim’s nose. The standard Model Y is only available in black, white and gray with a black interior. So, if you want a red, blue or silver car (or a white interior), that’ll be $7,000, please.
The base variant’s cabin is trimmed in cloth, giving up the synthetic-suede accents, and the seats are a mix of cloth and synthetic leather instead of full synthetic leather. The front seats lose their ventilation; the rear seats lose their power adjustability and heating. Want a third-row seat? That’ll be $7,000 — well, plus the $2,500 it adds to the Premium’s base price. The steering-column adjustments in the base Model Y AWD also revert from power to manual.
The large central touchscreen remains, but rear-seat passengers lose their 8-inch display, which also means they have to manually adjust their air vents instead of using the screen to redirect them. Live near a scary biological lab and need your Model Y to double as a panic room? Better find another $7,000 in your beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks because the base trim goes without the climate-control system’s Bioweapon Defense Mode and HEPA filter. Good luck communicating with other survivors — or jamming out to sweet hair metal anthems — after the biopocalypse because there’s no FM radio, either. And there are only seven speakers to strip for magnets instead of the Premium’s 16.
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What Remains
That’s a lengthy list of deletions, but the standard Model Y still has four doors and functioning headlights. It also retains keyless entry and start, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a heated windshield. The dashcam and Sentry Mode still monitor the surroundings while the car is in motion or parked.
Standard safety technologies include forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitors, lane departure steering assist and adaptive cruise control. Full Self Driving is optional on the base trim at the same price as on the Premium: $99 per month or $8,000 for the life of the vehicle.
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