No more electric car under $60,000! Tesla Model 2022 starting price to rise but specs stay the same as new EVs including Polestar 3 enter lineup

No more electric car under $60,000! Tesla Model 2022 starting price will rise, but specifications will remain the same as new electric vehicles, including Polestar 3, enter the line-up

The entry-level Model 3 variant no longer costs $59,900 plus travel expenses.

Tesla Australia said goodbye to the $59,900 model for $3 (plus travel expenses), with the all-electric midsize sedan's starting price up by four figures.

An unnamed entry-level variant of the Model 3 now costs $1000 more, to $60,900, with Tesla Australia giving no explanation for the price increase. For reference, its mid-range Long Range and flagship Performance versions still start at $73,200 and $86,629 respectively.

It should be noted that the standard equipment of the unnamed entry-level variant is the same as before, so the increase in prices was likely due to the significant supply chain issues currently facing the automotive industry and many others.

Problems with the Tesla Model 3 only began in late 2021, when the Shanghai factory that supplies the Polestar 2 competitor (starting at $59,900) to Australia quietly removed one of the two electronic control units (ECUs) included in some cars' steering racks. to CNBC the report was published last month.

The US media reported that the second engine control unit was deemed redundant so it was removed, but it really should have played a role in the future when Tesla releases the long-promised Level 3 autonomous driving feature for the Model 3 via more over the air update.

No more electric car under $60,000! Tesla Model 2022 starting price will rise, but specifications will remain the same as new electric vehicles, including Polestar 3, enter the line-up

If the next generation of so-called full self-driving does arrive, it is unknown if affected Model 3 owners will be able to install an additional ECU in the steering rack for free. In any case, the process of moving from level 2 to level 3 will not be easy for them, as they promised.

As reported, the waiting time for Model 3 delivery in Australia was only one to three weeks in October last year but jumped to two to five weeks and then eight to 12 weeks in November before settling from 14 to 20 weeks in December. . Last month they grew to five to seven months.

Despite the obvious problems, the Model 3 was still the most popular all-electric car in Australia in 2021 with sales of 12,094 vehicles, outpacing well-known internal combustion engine (ICE) models such as Toyota Kluger, Isuzu MU-X and Kia Seltos.