Tesla prices keep dropping, Model 3 & Y now at lowest prices ever
Tesla prices have been falling all year, and today we’ve got another price cut to report on most trims of Tesla’s most popular models, leaving the Model 3 at the lowest price it’s ever been.
Model Y – Long Range & Performance are $2k cheaper
The Model Y Long Range and Model Y Performance are both now listed for $2,000 less than they were earlier today, with the Model Y Long Range going for $48,490 and the Model Y Performance going for $52,490 on Tesla’s website.
Previously, the models started at $50,490 and $54,490 respectively.
The change comes days after Tesla introduced the cheapest Model Y the US has seen, the new Model Y Rear-wheel drive which starts at $43,990. That model was not subject to today’s $2k price drop, and remains at the same price it was introduced at earlier this week.
Model 3 is now the cheapest Tesla ever
The Model 3 has also seen a price reduction, with all three trims getting discounted as compared to earlier today. The Model 3 Rear-wheel drive and Long Range versions both get a $1,250 price cut, and the Performance model is down $2,250 from previous pricing.
These models now start at $38,990 for the RWD, $45,990 for the LR and $50,990 for the Performance model. Previously they sold for $40,240, $47,240 and $53,240 respectively.
The new prices mean that with even modest state, local or regional tax credits, on top of the $7,500 federal credit, a new Model 3 could cost less than $30k for the right buyer. This is the cheapest new Tesla ever, save the questionably briefly-available $35k Model 3 – though between inflation and lower tax credit availability, today’s Model 3 is an even better deal than that one would have been.
The Model 3 recently got a big refresh with lots of changes in foreign markets, though the refreshed “Highland” Model 3 is not expected to be available in the US until next year. So Tesla probably feels the need to sweeten the pot a little for buyers who might otherwise wait for the new version to come out.
This is the latest in a long line of Tesla price cuts, starting in January but continuing with several more this year. Most recently, the company took a big chunk off Model S and X prices and also cut the price of FSD by $3k.
In addition to this, most Teslas now qualify for Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, which Tesla previously could not access after it ran out of the previous EV credit, so many buyers can receive another $7,500 credit on their federal income taxes. Although this may not last forever – due to the way the tax credit law works, Tesla’s cheapest models which use LFP batteries made in China may lose access to half of the credit next year.
Electrek’s Take
Teslas now cost tens of thousands of dollars less than they did at the end of 2022. Sure, 2022 was on the tail end of a year or two of significant price increases, while the EV market was highly squeezed due to COVID-related supply disruptions, but these drops have still been drastic.
The price drops even resulted in owner protests as recent buyers felt aggrieved at their cars losing thousands of dollars of residual value overnight. Imagine that, protesting in favor of inflation.
The drops have also affected the rest of the EV market, as Tesla’s dominant position as the market and brand leader in EVs, along with its previously industry-high margins mean that it has more room to prevail in a price war against other manufacturers, while still maintaining a brand perception as being a higher class of electric vehicle.
This has resulted in difficulty for other manufacturers trying to sell similar vehicles. We just saw this earlier today, as VW ID.4 quarterly numbers came out. While the ID.4 saw record sales, VW only sold 10,707 EVs in the US in Q3. That’s less than a tenth of the number of EVs Tesla delivered in the US in the same time frame.
The ID.4 is currently cheaper than the Model Y, at a base price of $37,495 (plus destination), but every Tesla price drop eats away at that difference.
And this, I believe, is the source of the current complaints around the industry about “demand problems” with EVs. Many manufacturers are lamenting difficulty in growing sales after having no trouble selling every EV they made in 2021 and 2022. But those manufacturers largely have not been dropping their prices this year, whereas Tesla has (well, VW did offer a cheaper ID.4 model this year, just like Tesla has with the RWD).
To extend on the above example, an ID.4 is an incredibly attractive offer at ~$38k against a Model Y at $66k, especially if you can get the tax credit on the ID.4 and not on the Y. But if you shave an effective ~$25k off the price of that Model Y, that calculus is going to change. Maybe that’s why the Model Y is now the best selling car in the world.
Same goes for comparisons to other vehicles, most of which are around the same price they were last year. But if parts shortages are over, if component materials are much cheaper, and if your competition is shellacking you in sales while still managing to lower prices by five digits multiple times over, maybe a little price competition is in order (and the same applies to industries other than automotive, by the way…).
And despite my personal dislike of Elon Musk’s ridiculous shenanigans, at this point, I would be hard-pressed to say there is any better deal in EVs than the Model 3, or even in cars as a whole. Save perhaps for the excellent Chevy Bolt, which is a screaming deal at a base MSRP of $26,500 in its last quarter of production.
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Japanese equipment giant Komatsu has added a not-so-giant electric excavator to its growing lineup of battery-powered construction equipment. The new Komatsu PC20E-6 electric mini excavator promises a full day of work from a single charge.
Komatsu says the design of its latest mini excavator was informed by data sourced from more than 40,000 working days of comparably-sized diesel excavators. The company found that, in 90% of its global customers’ mini excavator deployments, these vehicles are in active use for less than 3.5 hours per day.
“This defined the target for the required, reliable working time with the excavator,” reads the Komatsu web copy. “This result makes it possible for Komatsu to offer an attractively priced machine with a performance that exactly matches the requirements.”
Keeping costs down are relatively conservative specs. Komatsu chose to power the PC20E-6 with a 23.2 kWh battery pack sending electrons to an 11 kW (~15 hp), high-torque electric motors. Not exactly super impressive on paper, but the machine has an operating weight of 2,190 kg and enough juice for up to four (4) hours of continuous operation.
More than enough, in other words, to have completed 90% of of those 40,000 work days the company analyzed.
Getting it done
If, for some reason, that four hours’ runtime isn’t enough, an on-board charging option for 230V and 3kW charging power compatible with various plug adapters is standard, with an external DC quick charger for 400V and 12 kW charging as optional. In either case, it won’t be long before the machine is back at work.
To help the later adopters sleep well about their battery-powered investments, the PC20E-6 ships with Komatsu’s E-Support maintenance program, which includes free scheduled maintenance by a Komatsu-trained technician, a 3 year/2,000 hour warranty on the machine, plus a 5 year/10,000 hour warranty on the electric driveline. The company says the battery should last 10 years.
“The Komatsu E-Support customer program is included free of charge with every market-ready electric mini excavator and offers exclusive machine support,” said Emanuele Viel, Group Manager Utility at Komatsu Europe. “The bottom line is that the risk for the end customer is significantly reduced, especially when it comes to exploring the electrification advances in the industry.”
Komatsu hasn’t released official pricing quite yet, but has revealed that the P20E-6 will begin series production this October.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Komatsu.
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Tesla has unexpectedly terminated a contractor’s contract at Gigafactory Texas, resulting in the layoff of 82 workers who were supporting the automaker’s production at the giant factory in Austin.
MPW Industrial Services Inc., an Ohio-based industrial service provider specializing in cleaning and facility management, has issued a new WARN notice, confirming that it will lay off 82 workers in Texas due to Tesla unexpectedly ending its contract with the company.
Here are the details from the WARN notice:
- State / agency: Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).
- Notice date: August 27, 2025.
- Employees affected: 82
- Likely effective date: September 1, 2025
- Context from the filing/letter: layoffs tied to an unexpected termination of a major customer contract (Tesla—Gigafactory Texas, 1 Tesla Road); positions include 61 technicians, 7 team leads, 7 supervisors, 7 managers; no bumping rights; workers not union-represented.
In April 2024, Tesla initiated waves of layoffs at the plant, resulting in the dismissal of more than 2,000 employees in Austin, Texas.
Since then, Tesla’s sales have been in a steady decline. While the automaker is expected to have a strong quarter in the US in Q3 due to the end of the tax credit, sales are expected to decline further in Q4 and the first half of 2026.
Many industry watchers have expected Tesla to initiate further layoffs due to the situation.
Electrek’s Take
We may be seeing the beginnings of a new wave of layoffs at Tesla, as the automaker typically starts with contractors.
To be fair, Tesla could also potentially end the contract unexpectedly for other reasons, but the timing does align with the need to cut costs and staff ahead of an inevitable downturn in US EV sales.
I think it’s inevitable that we start seeing some layoffs. I think Tesla will have to slow down production in the US to avoid creating an oversupply, especially in Q4-Q1.
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First, it was e-bikes, offering an efficient, effective, and low-cost way for teens and just about everyone to zip around town, yet drawing the temper of suburban traditionalists. Now golf carts are the new public enemy number one in suburbia, at least if you ask the growing number of online groups where residents complain about these small electric vehicles “clogging” their streets.
But beyond the hand-wringing, golf carts and their more sophisticated cousins known as Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) or Low Speed Vehicles (LSVs), are quietly becoming a popular alternative to cars for short trips around US cities and suburbs.
While most people still associate golf carts with retirement communities in Florida or slow rides across 18 holes, street-legal versions have been around for the last few decades.
But these aren’t your grandpa’s bare-bones carts, complete with a golf pencil clip. Many now come with DOT seat belts, lights, turn signals, mirrors, backup cameras, and speed limiters that allow them to operate legally on roads up to 35 mph, as long as they meet all the federal requirements for Low-Speed Vehicles (LSVs).
That means such vehicles are legally allowed to operate like cars, trucks, bicycles, or motorcycles on the vast majority of residential streets and a surprising portion of urban grids. In other words, for grabbing groceries, school drop-offs, or cruising to a friend’s house, they’re a practical, cheaper, and far greener substitute for firing up a 5,000-pound SUV.
Golf carts have been slowly taking off for years, but the pandemic accelerated the trend. Sales of golf carts and LSVs spiked as families looked for safe, outdoor transportation and an easy way to get around their neighborhoods. Now, in cities all over the country, the sight of parents driving their kids to school or running errands in a cart is increasingly common. In some towns, petitions have even popped up with hundreds of residents asking for local ordinances to legalize them on more streets, according to the Daily Mail.
Of course, not everyone is thrilled. There’s growing backlash against the increase in golf carts on streets, with many residents calling them a “plague” and complaining that they’re taking up space on the roads, in parking lots, or creating unsafe conditions. While rare, there have been serious accidents too, with a handful of tragic cases highlighting the dangers of mixing small, lightweight carts with full-size vehicles. Critics argue that carts lack the crash protection of cars and don’t always fall under homeowners’ insurance policies if an accident happens.
But for every critic, there’s a supporter pointing out that golf carts take cars off the road, save money on fuel, and are no more dangerous than scooters or e-bikes – modes of transport that already share the streets. And major golf cart makers have been happy to respond to the demand with boosted sales and new models. Companies like E-Z-GO, Club Car, WAEV, Kandi, and others are all rushing new models to the market as more suburban commuters discover that their next electric vehicle might just cost a fraction of what they thought it would – and come with a better breeze, too.
Electrek’s Take
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s like the Karens are just following me around to poo-poo on any alternative vehicle I happen to drive that week. They’ve hit all my favorites. Pretty soon, they’ll be coming for my electric tractors, too!
But seriously, this feels like déjà vu. The same arguments we’ve heard for years against e-bikes are now being recycled against golf carts: too unsafe, too disruptive, too “different” from the car-centric status quo.
But the reality is, again, quite the same as e-bikes. These are small electric vehicles that make a ton of sense and are totally street legal, at least when they’re built correctly to conform to the proper laws.
They come with a lot of the same benefits, too. They’re cheap to operate, easy to park, perfect for short trips, and they prevent larger cars from needlessly clogging residential streets. Will they ruffle feathers among the kind of folks who have had one too many frisbees land in their yard? Perhaps. But much like e-bikes, their popularity is only going one direction – up.
I leave you with a few images of perhaps my favorite of all, the Kandi Mini. The nay-sayers can pull it from my cold, dead, golf
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