Tesla has been working on a more affordable EV for a few years now, and production had been expected to begin in mid-2025. But at the company’s last earnings call in July, it said this model would be delayed because Tesla was concentrating on increasing Model Y deliveries before US tax credits ran out.
Now, spy shots from Texas have taken the covers off this new affordable model, which in most recent sighting is being dubbed 2026 Tesla Model Y Standard variant.
New photos taken by Ryan Mable and shared on X show a white model with a driver and passenger, being driven on a two-lane road near Tesla’s Texas factory (GigaTexas).
From the front, the car appears to have a slimmer version of the headlights seen on the current generation Model 3. The rest of the front looks fairly similar to the current Model Y, without the signature light bar of course.
The photo taken from the rear shows a similar design to the current Model Y, although the rear lighting design doesn’t go back inwards towards the centre of the bonnet.
Looking at the roof of the car, it’s hard to see if it’s got the glass roof replaced with a solid roof from these shots, but that’s expected to be the case, given previous details we know of this upcoming cheaper model.
The side shot shows the 18-inch wheels with aerocovers on them as well as side repeater cameras, hinting at the Autopilot and full-self-driving (FSD) Supervised capabilities to be available on the company’s most affordable model to date.
A recent app software update revealed key details about the cheaper model, hinting at a no-frills design that cuts costs.
Changes spotted in the code of the software confirmed that it will have a new outer design, code-named E41 and no glass roof and smaller 18-inch wheels with tyre pressure monitoring systems removed, on the outside.
There were also hints that the powered mirrors on the standard Model 3 and Model Y vehicles were to be removed. Other changes include removing the heater from the reversing camera, which is not too important in market like ours in Australia due to milder to hotter climates.
On the inside, the changes go a bit further with no screen in the rear, a simpler audio system labelled in the code as “Essential”, a basic fibreglass headliner, less interior lights, simpler seat controls and removal of puddle lights found on Tesla’s other models.
On the design of the upcoming model, we learned more about the car’s styling from Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, in response to a question from a Tesla investor during the last company earnings call. Musk replied by jokingly saying that the more affordable model will look like the Model Y.
The latest sighting of this model shows many of the exterior changes previously noted and does look like a more trimmed version of the Model Y.
Given how much we know now, we could have a full reveal within weeks with the hope that Tesla starts mass production of this cheaper model by the end of the year.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
