We are used to seeing unusual, surprising, and even very puzzling moves from Tesla. Events of dramatic price reductions overnight are the most memorable and prominent. However, from time to time, it also makes changes within its model lineup that may come as a surprising twist.
Take, for example, the current event. Tesla unexpectedly launched in a number of European markets over the weekend the Model Y, its popular crossover, in a new long-range version. The improvement: a combination of rear-wheel drive with an enlarged battery that brings an official range of 600 km.
Until now, the rear-wheel drive version had only a 60 kWh battery and 455 km range. There is also a Long Range version with a 75 kWh battery and dual-wheel drive and a range of 533 km. So now there is also a rear-wheel drive version with an enlarged battery and a range starting with the desired number 6.
For Tesla, this is an advantage over its main competitors in the European market: the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 still do not have versions that achieve a range of 600 km or more.
In addition to the improved range, the performance of the Model Y is also remarkable. This version shaves a second off the acceleration time of the rear-wheel drive Model Y with the standard range and will do it in 5.9 seconds, with a top speed of 217 km/h.
The new version is currently being offered in a number of markets in Europe, including Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Spain, and Germany. The price difference between the standard rear-wheel-drive version and the long-range version is about 4,000 euros in the case of Belgium, where the standard rear-wheel-drive version is sold for 46,000 euros and the long-range version for 50,000 euros.
Despite the difficulty of directly comparing electric markets due to various tax incentives, if we attribute this 8% price difference to the local market, this version, when marketed in the country, will cost around NIS 265,000 - which is about NIS 20,000 more expensive than the base version. But no less important - it is about NIS 30,000 cheaper than the LR version, which offers less range than it does.
All of this raises the question of why Tesla is pursuing this move when the assumption is that in the next year they will introduce the updated and improved version of the Model Y similar to what they did with the Model 3. The answer seems to be once again "because it's Tesla".