Tesla Will Not Offer a Model 3 Performance Variant for Under $50,000

author: Manish Kharinta   

The Tesla Model 3

Tesla recently revised the pricing for its Model 3, Model S and Model X SUV, making its mass-market Model 3 cheaper, while hiking the prices for its flagship Model S sedan and SUV.  

To compensate for the price hike, Tesla revealed that it will be offering more features in both the Model S and X than ever before, including a standard "Ludicrous Mode" for the Model 3 Performance variant.

With Tesla's new pricing strategy, the price of the Performance Model 3 was dropped to $54,990, almost $14,000 cheaper than the initial price of $69,000. 

However, earlier reports claim that while navigating through the order menu of Tesla's online configurator, some tech savvy customers discovered they could swap the 20-inch performance wheels with the smaller 18-inch Aero wheels on request to get an extra discount. This was supposed to drop the price of the Model 3 Performance down to $49,990, which many Tesla fans consider to be bargain.

However, Tesla confirmed that even after the swap, customers will not be able to order a Model 3 Performance for that low price. The option for swapping the 20-inch wheels for the 18-inch Aero will now simply reconfigure the car to feature the selected wheel option, but the price will remain unchanged.

Beginning Monday, Tesla will offer the performance upgrade package as standard in Model 3. This will include features like Tesla's "Track Mode." Customers can no longer unbundle the add-on package from Tesla's order menu.

The performance variant of Model 3 also comes with a special power inverter, which carries more current from the car's battery pack to the electric motors resulting in more power and torque. 

This is why the Performance version of Model 3 accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds whereas it takes the Long Range variant 4.4 seconds to complete the same sprint. 

It should be noted that both the Performance and Long Range versions of Model 3 feature the same driving range of 310 miles. Both variants also get Tesla's all-wheel-drive system, which uses a digital controller to regulate torque between the front and rear wheels to enhance the car's handling and improve traction. 

When fully equipped with a carbon fiber spoiler, lowered suspension and aluminum alloy pedals, the Model 3 Performance offers a top speed of 162 MPH as compared to 145 mph top speed offered in the Long Range variant of Model 3. 

Nevertheless, the Long Range model gets a $47,990 price tag which is still $7,000 cheaper than the Performance variant.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.