Model Y likely Australian cost, gulp!

As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, if we lived in the US we would have our Model Y. The left hand drive Model Y started delivery on March 13 2020, it was unveiled in March 2019 and began production in Freemont in January 2020.

As it is available in the US this helps in determining the likely Australian cost.

This week I configured a white with black interior Long Range version on the US website to confirm purchase costs, this is without the Full Self-Driving Capability at a further $10,000 USD and the popular 20 inch induction wheels that are $2,000 USD.

To calculate the Australian costs, I reversed engineered the Model 3 Long Range costs to determine the multiplier. I then multiplied the configured US Model Y Long Range cost by the multiplier shown below of 1.99.

Is this more expensive for Australians than those in the US?

The annual salary in the US is $49,764 and in Australia it is $89,122. The cost of the Model Y when considering these factors seems somewhat acceptable.

The additional cost of Luxury Car Tax is what may make it cost prohibitive to Australian's as it will exceed $100,000, a mental hurdle for many. Based on the above calculations it will be $103,669 without delivery and on road costs.

Further to this I will probably opt for Full Self Driving (FSD) which is $10,100 Australian dollars, as mentioned above in the US this is $10,000 USD. In theory FSD is considerably cheaper in Australia when you consider the earlier analysis. However in adding this, when combined with the luxury car tax, there is a further $13,433 of additional cost to the car. The luxury car tax could probably be avoided if FSD was purchased after delivery.

The cost of a Model Y Long Range with FSD is likely to be an eye watering $117,102 or $113,769 if you purchase the FSD after delivery. These costs are without popular colour options, wheels and other accessories, which could easily have you spending close to $120,000.

Tesla believes that they will sell more Model Y vehicles than all previous models combined, within Australia this may be challenging if the current Australian multiplier continues.

Hmmm, this will be an interesting conversation with my wife Nicole.