We are used to seeing unusual, surprising and even very puzzling moves from Tesla, events of dramatic overnight price reductions are the most memorable and prominent. However, from time to time it also makes changes within the range of models that may cause quite a surprise.
Take the current event for example. Tesla unexpectedly launched the Model Y, its popular crossover, in a new long-range version at the weekend in several European markets. The improvement: a combination of rear-wheel drive with an enlarged battery that results in an official range of 600 km.
Until now, the rear-wheel drive version only had a 60 kW battery and 455 km. There is also a long-range version with a 75 kW battery and dual drive and a range of 533 km. So now there is also a version with rear-wheel drive and an enlarged battery and a range that starts with the sought-after number 6.
For Tesla, this is an advantage over the 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 From and up.
Besides the improved range, the performance of the Model Y also comes out well. This version cuts a second off the acceleration time of the rear-wheel drive model Y and the standard range and will do it in 5.9 seconds, the maximum speed is 217 km/h.
The new version is currently offered in several European markets including Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Spain And Germany, where the price difference between the standard rear-wheel drive and the longer-range version is about 4,000 euros in the case of Belgium, where the rear-wheel drive version is sold for 46,000 euros and the longer-range one for 50,000
euros The difficulty of comparing electric markets directly due to different tax incentives, if we attribute this 8% price gap to the local market, this version, when marketed in Israel, will cost about 265 thousand shekels - about 20 thousand shekels more expensive than the base version. But no less important Therefore - about NIS 30,000 cheaper than the dual-drive LR version, which now also has a shorter range than it,
the question of why Tesla is turning to this move when it is assumed that during the coming year it will introduce the renewed and improved version of the Model Y. The one she did in the Model 3. The answer is probably again "because Tesla".