How Much Is a Tesla? Cheaper Than Before—Here’s a Price Breakdown

Everyone knows they’re not cheap, but exactly how much does a Tesla cost? There’s a huge difference in price between the cheapest Tesla and the most expensive Tesla. The EV lineup works for a wide variety of budgets and expectations.

Tesla changes its prices and trim levels every now and then, but below you’ll find pricing information for each Tesla model as of this writing, with reference points to how the prices most recently changed. Unfortunately, though the original Federal tax credits on Tesla vehicles have ended, the Inflation Reduction Act’s revised credits are fair game for certain models. And you can still take advantage of state credits. Keep reading to learn how much you can expect to spend on a new Tesla.

As the cheapest Tesla available, the Model 3 has a lot to offer, including strong range and sleek styling. The rear-drive Standard Range Plus model had already seen its base price jump to as high as $48,190 as of March 2022, but Tesla has undone some of those increases, dropping the out-the-door MSRP to $43,990. With the new $1,390 destination charge, that placed the least-expensive Model 3 at $45,380 before another recent reduction of $1,000 dragged the out-the-door price to $44,380. This car has an estimated driving range of 267 miles, and also qualifies once again for the Federal EV tax credit, for up to a $7,500 rebate.

The Long Range model is, curiously, on hiatus on Tesla’s website (as of March 2023); it delivers an EPA-rated 353 miles of range and had started at $59,190, a big leap from its most recent price of $55,690, itself up from $53,690 earlier in 2022. We expect this version to return to the lineup, but no word on pricing.

The racier Performance model is available and manages an EPA-rated 315 miles of range on a full charge and is now priced at $55,380 with destination—way down from the $64,190 Tesla had been charging for one. Both Long Range and Performance models come standard with all-wheel-drive courtesy of an individual electric motor at each axle.

The all-wheel-drive-only Tesla Model S is significantly more expensive than the Model 3, but it too has gotten a price reduction. The Long Range variant, which travels an estimated 405 miles on a full charge, has already seen a decent price reduction from its most recent MSRP of $106,190, to $96,380. It’s now reduced even further, to a new starting MSRP of $91,380 including destination (which is not quite low enough of a total to qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act’s policy of tax credits).

After the tri-motor Plaid variant saw its price hiked, first from $119,690 to $131,190 after the news dropped that Tesla won’t make the 520-mile, higher-performance Plaid+ model, which CEO Elon Musk claimed is no longer necessary, it saw yet another jump to a whopping $137,190. That was previously slashed to just $116,380—lower than the Plaid has ever been priced—and now starts at $111,380, significantly cheaper than just a few months ago.

This might just be worth it—although its driving range falls to an estimated 348 miles, the Model S Plaid benefits from a manufacturer-estimated 0-60 mph time of fewer than 2.0 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph. In our tests, a less powerful dual-motor Tesla Model S Plaid zoomed to 60 mph in just 2.1 seconds. That makes it the quickest production car we’ve tested.

Known for its “Falcon Wing” doors, the Model X SUV is the most expensive Tesla currently available. With an estimated range of 332 miles, the dual-motor Tesla Model X now goes for $101,380, down big time from its recent charge of $122,190. The Model X Plaid’s range drops to an estimated 311 miles, but like the Model S Plaid, it delivers quicker acceleration and a higher top speed. Prices for this trim had started at an eye-watering $140,190, but like other Tesla prices have plunged in recent months to $121,380, close to its original ask when it first debuted, and now it’s priced at $111,380 in the latest model line update (as of March 2023).

The Model X comes standard with five seats. A six-seat configuration costs an extra $6,500, and a seven-seat configuration costs $3,500.

The Model Y, Tesla’s compact SUV, starts at a more reasonable $56,380 after recently seeing its entry-level trim’s price rise to $67,190 before falling to as low as $54,380. That buys you a Long Range model that’s capable of going an EPA-estimated 330 miles on a full charge of its battery pack. Yep, Tesla pricing is a rollercoaster. But the good news is that the five- and seven-seat Long Range now qualifies for the Federal EV tax credit again, for up to $7,500 in savings.

Additionally, Tesla offers the Model Y in a Performance variant that offers an estimated 303 miles of range and wears a now-steal-of-a-price-tag of $60,380 (it had been slashed to as low as $58,380 in January 2023), still a marked reduction from its recent $71,190 ask. The Model Y comes standard with five seats; however, $3,000 adds a small third-row bench to Long Range models, which brings the SUV’s seating capacity up to seven. Drop another $1,000 and Tesla adds a tow hitch, which allows users to make the most of the SUV’s available 3,500-pound towing capacity.

Tesla has ambitious goals for its new Roadster: hit 60 mph in 1.9 seconds and achieve a range of 620 miles. Fittingly, prices will start around $200,000. The Founders Series, limited to the first 1,000 customers, is priced at around $250,000. At this price, the Roadster is poised to become the most expensive Tesla in the lineup. As of right now, Tesla is taking reservations for the Roadster but the official on-sale date hasn’t been announced.

Typical transaction prices for a full-size pickup are by now well over fifty grand, but the Tesla Cybertruck doesn’t have to cost that much. The otherworldly truck was initially expected to start at around $39,900, while prices for the Cybertruck allegedly increase about $10,000 for a dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant, and the tri-motor all-wheel-drive version will cost about $30,000 more than the standard model.

Of course, those prices have since been scrubbed from Tesla’s website, and it’s widely anticipated that the production truck will cost far more. (In related news, you can see how much the Cybertruck will cost Tesla to build, and how much it could cost buyers to insure.) Like the Roadster, Tesla is taking reservations for the Cybertruck but has not announced exactly when it will go on-sale beyond a series of missed targets tracing back to the reveal in 2019. The latest promise is that the Cybertruck will go into production later in 2023.

Tesla’s Semi, which has already received orders from companies like Walmart and J.B. Hunt, is expected to start around $150,000. Founders Series models are expected to go for around $200,000. Here again, an exact on-sale date has not been announced. But Tesla says the first Semi deliveries have already taken place as of early 2023, though they were originally promised way back in 2021.

Tesla offers what it calls Full Self-Driving Capability as a $15,000 option (it used to be $10,000). Tesla promises this hardware package will someday allow the car to drive itself without any input from the driver, but as of today, it is limited to advanced driver aids that fall short of allowing completely autonomous driving.

*Prices listed do not include available government incentives