Tesla’s U.S. lineup has been missing one crucial variant since August 2022 when sales of the Model 3 Long Range were halted to allow Tesla to clear a delivery backlog. But now the mid-spec Model 3 is back, and it costs thousands less then it did before it disappeared.
The Model 3 Long Range appeared on the company’s updated website on Tuesday night priced at $47,240, which represents a massive saving on the $57,990 the company was asking for an LR in August last year. Tesla has cut prices multiple times since then, the most recent reductions happening earlier this week. The new price puts the all-wheel drive Long Range equidistant on price between the $40,240 entry level, single motor, rear-wheel drive Model 3 and the $53,240 Model 3 Performance.
Tesla says the new Long Range is good for zero to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.2 seconds (std: 5.8; Performance: 3.1), gives the top speed as 140 mph (225 km/h) and says the longest-legged of all Model 3s can travel 325 miles (523 km) on a full charge.
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But that range figure is much lower than the 358 miles (576 km) Tesla quoted for the old Long Range, suggesting that the new version is fitted with a different battery pack that’s less energy dense. The fact that the Model 3 Long Range is only eligible for half of the full $7,500 tax credits the government also suggests the new model falls foul of stipulations in the U.S. government’s Inflation Reduction Act about where an electric vehicle‘s battery and its battery components are sourced.
A note at the top of the Model 3 page on Tesla’s U.S. website informs customers that the base car and LR are eligible for $3,750 in federal tax credits, while stepping up to the Performance opens up access to $7,500 of tax credits. On the face of it there’s a $6,000 MSRP gap between the Model 3 Long Range and the Performance, but by the time the tax credits are taken into account the gap is so small that you’d be pretty mad not to upgrade to the Performance.
That’s not a decision Canadian Tesla fans have to worry about. The new Long Range doesn’t appear on Tesla’s Canadian website, where the only Model 3s available remain the base car and the Performance.
