Tesla Model 3 sees a price increase, but base car gets more range
Ten extra miles of range are now included on the Standard Range Plus variant.
Thursday brought a surprise for those kicking the tires on a Tesla Model 3. The cheapest car available for order on the online configurator (the long-promised $35,000 car is a secret menu item these days) is now $500 more expensive with a final price of $39,490.
But that extra $500 does come with a 10-mile range increase for the Model 3 Standard Range Plus. Previously, Tesla's online configurator showed range of 240 miles. Now, the online configurator, as of Thursday, shows a 250-mile range.
Roadshow reached out to Tesla for a comment on the price and range increases, but the company did not immediately return our request. It's unclear how the company squeezed 10 additional miles out of the car, whether it's a physical improvement or just software tweaks.
Moving through the Model 3 hierarchy, the Long Range model stays put with a $47,990 price tag and a 310-mile range. The Model 3 Performance, however, sees its price creep upward by $1,000 to $56,990. Its range stays put at 310 miles as well, but there is a set of new smoked-gray performance wheels available. They replace the standard finish found on Model 3 Performance variants up until now. Long Range variants still offer the 20-inch wheels in the original brighter finish.
Read more: An exclusive look inside Tesla's secret Crash Test Lab
The added cost and more range for Tesla's entry-level electric-car come after a record quarter for the Californian automaker. In the third quarter, the electric-car maker delivered 97,000 vehicles total, more than ever before. It fell just short of the company's prediction of 100,000 deliveries, however.
Tesla also received final approval to begin manufacturing cars in China, according to reports on Thursday. That could help boost deliveries tremendously and keep the Model 3's cost down in the country, where it's currently subject to imported auto tariffs.