2026 Tesla Model 3 Standard: This Is It

• The Tesla Model 3 Standard arrives with fabric seats, 321 miles of range and rear-wheel drive.
• It’s set to cost $36,990, making it one of the most affordable cars Tesla has ever sold, and the cheapest in 2025.
• It would have been a better deal with EV tax credits, but it’s still not bad.

Tesla pulled a fast one on us. While spy shots confirmed a cheaper Tesla Model Y Standard was on its way, it turns out that teaser image for a black, fan-shaped wheel wasn’t for anything we quite expected. It was for the most affordable version of the updated Tesla Model 3 we’ve seen yet: meet the aptly named Tesla Model 3 Standard. 

The sedan went live on Tesla’s United States model configurator this afternoon, and it finally brings the “Highland” Model 3 into the $30,000 range. It’s priced at $36,990 before any state incentives (should your state offer them) and promises up to 321 miles of range, rear-wheel drive, textile-accented vegan leather seats and fewer creature comforts than other Model 3 trim levels.

In adding the Standard trim, Tesla has renamed much of the rest of the Model 3 lineup. It now comes in Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive, starting at $42,490; Premium All-Wheel-Drive at $47,490; and the range-topping Performance at $54,490. (All prices exclude destination fees.) 

A few things are notable about the Standard price tag. On the one hand, an EV with that much range priced in the mid-$30,000s is not bad, especially at a time when the average electric option is still about $20,000 higher. But with the requisite destination and order fees, you’re looking at an estimated $38,630. And there are sadly no more EV tax credits to push this Model 3 into the “nicely equipped Honda Civic” price range.

Tesla Model 3 Standard

Photo by: Tesla

Tesla Model 3 Standard

Photo by: Tesla

2026 Tesla Model Y Standard

Photo by: Tesla

Photos by: Tesla

You get a seven-speaker sound system, but no subwoofer; the ability to add 170 miles of range in 15 minutes of Supercharging, vs. the more expensive cars’ 195 miles; and you do without an FM and AM radio tuner. There’s also no rear touchscreen, no more ambient lighting, a manual-adjust steering wheel and side-view mirrors, no Autosteer, and no more active dampers.

But if you want a no-nonsense, everyperson way into electric cars without spending a lot, this isn’t a bad way at all to do it—especially considering the vast availability of Tesla’s Supercharger network to make on-the-go charging easier than in many EVs.

At the same time, it’s not even priced at or below the long-promised but ultimately elusive $35,000 level. And it’s a far cry from an all-new Tesla model that fans and casual car-shoppers alike hoped would cost around $25,000. Tesla had reportedly been planning such a car once, but it was quashed by CEO Elon Musk amid his focus on robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomy. 

This Model 3 could compete with a new crop of more affordable EVs, including the upcoming Kia EV4 and EV3, the new Nissan Leaf and forthcoming Chevrolet Bolt. At the same time, and like those cars, it goes into battle without the help of any tax credits that might’ve pushed it into bargain-basement territory. Will it succeed in getting Tesla the growth it needs without any truly new models in the pipeline? Let us know what you think in the comments. 

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com