Just one week after Tesla officially announced the new Model Y Standard, production has already begun at Giga Texas. Drone footage captured by factory watcher Joe Tegtmeyer on Thursday revealed dozens of the new vehicles lined up across the plant’s delivery yard, confirming that the automaker is wasting no time scaling up production of its latest variant.
The vehicles were easy to spot thanks to the lack of a front light bar compared to the Premium Model Y trims.
Early Availability in the U.S.
At the same time, the Model Y Standard has begun appearing in Tesla’s online inventory, though the company has yet to add a specific filter for it on its website. A review of listings near the company’s Gigafactory in Austin by Drive Tesla found 10 units available for delivery at Tesla’s new Direct Delivery Center at the factory, indicating that customer deliveries could start soon in Texas and nearby states.
None of the units had any discounts and all were listed with a starting price of US$39,990, pushed higher by added options like paint.
What the Model Y Standard Offers
The Model Y Standard represents Tesla’s newest entry-level configuration of its top-selling SUV, designed to balance affordability with efficiency. However, the new variant is missing many of the premium features found in higher trims to keep costs down. Buyers shouldn’t expect matrix headlights, ambient lighting, or the or the same vegan leather seats found in Long Range and Performance builds. However, it still includes Tesla’s signature 15-inch touchscreen, wireless phone charging, and full access to the company’s over-the-air (OTA) updates.
Autopilot is also missing, with the vehicle only coming with Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, however customers can still purchase the optional Full Self-Driving (Supervised) package.
The range on the vehicle is slightly lower than premium trims, coming in at around 321 miles (516 km) on a single charge. The new variant is expected to appeal to cost-conscious buyers who still want the practicality and performance of Tesla’s best-selling model, however there has been criticism that Tesla removed too many features considering the price point.
Canadian Sighting Hints at Expansion
While the vehicle is so far limited to the U.S. and Europe, a Model Y Standard was recently spotted testing in Canada, suggesting that Tesla is preparing to expand availability north of the border. The sighting aligns with Tesla’s recent pattern of introducing new trims in the U.S. first, followed by Canada. However, given the tariff situation between Canada and the U.S., it will have to come from Giga Berlin and not Giga Texas in order to keep the price down.
