Most popular variants of Tesla Model Y, Model 3 in Australia revealed

More than three-quarters of Tesla electric-car buyers in Australia last year chose the base model – and about half of all Teslas sold were a single model grade – new data obtained by Drive shows.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) sales data supplied to Drive shows the Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) accounted for 78 per cent of Tesla Model Y SUV deliveries – and 76 per cent of Model 3 sedan deliveries – last year.

It means the 22,374 Model Y RWDs reported as sold (delivered) last year represented 49 per cent of the 46,116 new Tesla vehicle deliveries recorded in total.

The RWD variants are the cheapest in the line-up – currently priced from $61,900 plus on-road costs for the Model 3, and $65,400 plus on-roads for the Model Y – and eligible for current or recently-discontinued electric-car rebates in many Australian states.

Among Model 3 sales, the Long Range accounted for 21 per cent of deliveries, followed by the Performance with 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the remainder of Model Y sales were split between the Long Range at 11.3 per cent, and Performance at 10.9 per cent – with just 129 deliveries between them.

In the second half of 2023 alone – when Model 3 deliveries slumped in the switch from old to new models – the Model Y RWD accounted for 56 per cent of Tesla's total 20,539 sales.

Tesla reported 46,116 deliveries in Australia last year, up 135 per cent on 2022 – but its share of the electric-car market slipped from 58.6 to 52.9 per cent.