Tesla has lowered the Australian entry price of its Model 3 to $45,900 before on-road costs with a new Rear-Wheel Drive grade that brings the electric sedan into closer competition with Australia’s biggest selling sedan, the Toyota Camry hybrid.
The new variant is $9000 cheaper than the continuing $54,900 Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive, a reduction of about 16.4 per cent in the range’s starting price.
Orders open today (October 1), with Australian customer deliveries scheduled to begin in mid-to-late October. Showroom displays and test drives are due to commence during the same period.
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The Australian announcement comes almost a year after Tesla revealed its cheaper Model 3 Standard in the United States in October 2025. At that time, an Australian introduction had not been confirmed.
The new Australian entry grade follows the same approach of reducing the purchase price through equipment changes, including revised seat upholstery and deletion of the rear touchscreen.
However, its local specification differs from the overseas version, and Tesla is calling it Rear-Wheel Drive rather than Standard.
Tesla has also launched a Standard grade Model Y SUV overseas, but that has yet to be confirmed for Australia.
The move puts the Model 3 $7090 below the $52,990 BYD Seal Premium and $4090 below the $49,990 Kia EV4 Air Standard Range. Mazda’s Chinese-built 6e liftback also starts at $49,990 before on-road costs.
It positions the new Tesla as Australia’s cheapest battery electric sedan on those advertised base prices, although the final drive-away comparison will depend on on-road charges and any rival offers.
The price also narrows the gap to the Toyota Camry Ascent hybrid, which starts at $39,990 before on-road costs. The new Model 3 carries a $5910 premium over the Toyota, compared with $14,910 for the Premium RWD.
The $9000 saving comes with several equipment changes, although the cheaper Model 3 actually offers more claimed driving range than the Premium RWD.
Tesla quotes 572km WLTP for the new entry grade compared with 520km for the Premium RWD, a 52km advantage. Acceleration is almost identical, with the cheaper car reaching 100km/h in a claimed 6.2 seconds versus 6.1 seconds.
Inside, woven textile inserts replace the Premium’s perforated synthetic leather upholstery. The front seats retain heating but lose ventilation and the Premium’s power-tilt function, while rear-seat heating is also omitted.
The steering wheel adjusts manually rather than electrically, the eight-inch rear touchscreen is deleted and the audio system drops from nine speakers to seven. FM/DAB radio and customisable wraparound ambient lighting are also omitted, although footwell lighting remains.
Rear passengers get manually adjustable air vents rather than touchscreen-controlled vents.
The entry grade rides on 18-inch Prismata wheels and uses what Tesla describes as passive shock absorbers, compared with the Premium RWD’s second-generation suspension with noise reduction.
However, along with the rest of the range the cheaper model gets a new slightly larger central touchscreen (now 16 inches, up from 15.4), panoramic glass roof, heated steering wheel, powered boot lid, wireless phone charging and power-folding exterior mirrors.
The company says the existing battery pack carries over, but its announcement does not specify battery capacity, motor output or AC and DC charging rates.
Tesla has also adopted vehicle-to-load for the first time, allowing household objects – or even e-bikes or e-scooters – to be powered from the vehicle’s charge port.
Combined boot and under-bonnet storage is quoted at 682 litres, increasing to 1659 litres with the rear seats folded.
Along with the rest of the range, the new RWD now supports Tesla’s Power Share function, allowing the traction battery to supply electricity to appliances and devices through a separately purchased Tesla Outlet Adapter.
Connected features include phone-key access, remote cabin pre-conditioning, charging schedules, over-the-air software updates and access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software is available as an optional $149 monthly subscription. Despite its name, the system requires driver supervision.
The lower-priced variant expands the Australian Model 3 range to four grades. Above it sit the Premium Rear-Wheel Drive at $54,900, Premium Long-Range Rear-Wheel Drive at $61,900 and Performance All-Wheel Drive at $80,900, all before on-road costs.
The pricing change arrives as competition for electrified passenger-car buyers broadens beyond the established Model 3 and BYD Seal.
Alongside the Kia EV4 and Mazda 6e, BYD’s Seal 6 plug-in hybrid sedan starts at $34,990 before on-road costs. Although it uses a different powertrain, it gives buyers another lower-priced alternative to both the Tesla and Camry.
Zeekr’s forthcoming 7GT electric wagon will add another option for buyers seeking an alternative to an SUV. Its Australian launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, with initial deliveries in the first quarter of 2027; local pricing remains unannounced.
The Camry remains the larger seller across the year, although the Model 3 moved ahead in August.
Electric Vehicle Council figures show 1271 Model 3 deliveries in August, while VFACTS recorded 967 Camrys. Across the first eight months of 2026, the Model 3 recorded 4597 deliveries compared with 8405 for the Camry. Tesla reports through the Electric Vehicle Council rather than VFACTS.
The BYD Seal recorded 433 deliveries in August and 3481 for the year to date, placing it behind the Model 3 on both measures.
The new Tesla carries a five-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty and eight-year/160,000km battery and drive-unit coverage, with a minimum 70 per cent battery-capacity retention guarantee.
2026 Tesla Model 3 pricing
Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive: $45,900
Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive: $54,900
Model 3 Premium Long-Range Rear-Wheel Drive: $61,900
Model 3 Performance All-Wheel Drive: $80,900
Prices plus on-road costs
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