How much will a Tesla Model 3 cost in Australia?

One Step Off The Grid

Officially, the Australian prices for the Tesla Model 3 haven’t been released yet. Let me be clear that what transpires below are my own estimates only!

That being said I am an engineer, scientist and self proclaimed spreadsheet guru so you can be assured that the below estimates are very likely going to be close.

I’ve also provided the reasoning behind how I came to the amounts which will hopefully help justify them instead of me just pulling numbers out of my ass.

To start with I’ll list all the vehicle variants and options pricing and then I’ll explain how I came to each of these numbers.

  • Model 3 Standard = $54,212 AUD
  • Model 3 Long Range = $68,153 AUD
  • Any Paint Option = $1,450 AUD
  • 19″ Wheel Option = $2,200 AUD
  • Premium Upgrades Package = $7,300 AUD
  • Enhanced Autopilot = $7,300 AUD ($8,800 AUD if upgraded after delivery)
  • Full Self-Driving Capability = $4,400 AUD ($5,900 AUD if upgraded after delivery)

So, if you for instance wanted to purchase a base Tesla Model 3 Standard with Red Paint it would cost $54,212 + $1,450 = $55,662 as a base cost before including any Local Stamp Duty, Local Registration Costs, Local CTP and potentially Luxury Car Tax if your base cost goes over $75,500.

Calculating the car costs

Image provided by Alex Shoolman
Image provided by Alex Shoolman

This is actually the most complicated part and also the most uncertain.

However the best way to estimate the prices is to use Tesla’s own configuration prices for the USA/Aus Model S and then scale them for the lower numbers.

An absolute base Model S in the USA costs $69,500 USD while in Australia it costs $107,650. That’s not including any taxes or other costs, just what Tesla charges the various countries for that vehicle.

From this we can calculate a sort of “Tesla Currency Conversion Rate” which equals $69,500 / $107,650 = $0.6456.

This is the ratio that includes not only USD to AUD currency conversion but also the costs Tesla has in terms of shipping the car, delivering it, their store costs, markup etc. For comparison the current AUD/USD currency conversion rate is $0.7986.

From this special Tesla currency conversion rate we can easily calculate each of the car costs from their USD prices given:

  • Model 3 Standard = $35,000 USD Price / $0.6456 = $54,212 AUD
  • Model 3 Long Range = $44,000 USD Price / $0.6456 = $68,153 AUD

Now obviously the USD/AUD exchange rate between now and when the car is properly released in Australia will change (hopefully to make it cheaper! :-)) but this should give you a very good idea as opposed to just doing a straight “$35,000 USD / $0.7986 exchange rate = $43,827 AUD” and thinking the car will be far cheaper than what it likely will be.

My figures are higher yes… but I’m pretty certain they will be more reflective of the real prices we’ll see come early 2019.

Calculating The Options

Options pricing is far easier to calculate and I’m pretty much 100% certain of the prices above as that is what they are on the Tesla Model S configure page.

For example we can see below that the “Paint” options cost $1,000 USD according to the USA Model 3 configuration page.

Source: Alex Shoolman
Source: Alex Shoolman

If you look at the USA Model S configuration page and see how much Paint costs it’s once again $1,000 USD. Therefor it’s pretty safe to assume the Australian price will be the same as whatever is on the Australian Model S configuration page, which is $1,450 AUD.

Doing this for all the other options we get the above numbers. It’s also been confirmed (see image below) that Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability features will cost the same as they do on the Model S, therefor meaning they’ll cost the same in Australia as what they do on the Australian Model S configuration page ($7,300 AUD and $4,400 AUD respectively)

Source: Alex Shoolman
Source: Alex Shoolman

All the above costs are the base costs and as said, they don’t include any Local Stamp Duty, Local Registration Costs, Local CTP and potentially Luxury Car Tax if your base cost goes over $75,500. All these things can be easily calculated however they vary greatly from state to state so I’m not going to do all the calculations for all the different states, prices etc. Once you’ve decided on your base car and options, add up the estimated AUD cost and from there ensure you then add the following to get your final “Drive Away” cost:

  1. Local Registration Costs (anywhere from $204 in NT to $773 in VIC)
  2. Local CTP  (anywhere from $598 in NSW to $318 in TAS)
  3. Local Stamp Duty (depends on the price of the base cost and which state you live in)
  4. Luxury Car Tax (depends on the price of the base cost and only comes into effect after the base cost goes over $75,500)

So for an absolute base Model 3 Standard with no options added and bought in VIC you’d be looking at $56,267 AUD drive away once you add all the above.

The Model 3 is a gorgeous car and to give you an indication of some other luxury sedan cars and how much they sell for a base model BMW 320i costs $68,607 drive away in VIC while the Audi A4 would set you back $61,759 drive away.

A lot of people compare the Model 3 to the wrong cars such as the GM Bolt or the Nissan Leaf just because they’re all electric but really it is a proper, premium luxury car… just way more advanced and cheaper than the competition apparently!

So what options will you be getting? I can’t decide between the red and the blue paint myself but I’m sure the Standard range will do us just fine!

Alex Shoolman is a Photonic Scientist and Telecommunications Engineer that writes about cutting edge news in energy & transport, IT, nanotechnology and machine learning. Head over and subscribe to get all the latest developments plus amazing guides and courses! 

This article was originally published on RenewEconomy’s sister site, One Step Off The Grid, which focuses on customer experience with distributed generation. To sign up to One Step’s free weekly newsletter, please click here.

Comments

11 responses to “How much will a Tesla Model 3 cost in Australia?”

  1. George Darroch Avatar
    George Darroch

    Useful, thank you.

    1. Alex Shoolman Avatar

      You’re welcome George! I’ll be a bit more analysis of the Model 3 over the next week too!

  2. George Michaelson Avatar
    George Michaelson

    I wish I felt the impending vw ecar will be cheaper and as range effective. I suspect this is a defacto emerging premium cost for evehicles worth owning. The Chevy is said to be cheaper but lacks range.

  3. MaxG Avatar
    MaxG

    @Alex: Read it on your blog; well reasoned; love it.

  4. Craig Allen Avatar
    Craig Allen

    Among the most popular cars sold in Australia that puts it on par with the cost of a Holden Commodore.

    Here are the top ten for 2016:

    Model – No. sold – Base cost
    Toyota HiLux – 42,104 – $45,000
    Toyota Corolla – 40,330 – $27,500
    Hyundai i30 – 37,772 – $23,750
    Ford Ranger – 36,934 – $47,500
    Mazda3 – 36,107 – $37,000
    Toyota Camry – 26,485 – $32,000
    Holden Commodore – 25,860 – $56,700
    Mazda CX-5 – 24,56 – $35,800
    Mitsubishi Triton – 21,987 – $47,800
    Hyundai Tucson – 20,132 – $40,300

  5. Mickjoebill Avatar
    Mickjoebill

    Comparing it to a Beemer is relevant on the basis that it is a performance car.

    But comparing it to the new Hyundai premium i30 SR (with autonomous braking, multilink sudoension, lane assist glass roof 5 year warranty ect) for circa $34k is also relevant because Tesla have been trading on the promise of an everyman car.

    Sure the styling is chalk and cheese, but as much as I love it (I’m a model 3 deposit holder) on grounds of safety our next car has to have autonomous braking, so looks like a model 3 will cost double the i30.

    So in comparison, no way is the model 3 the superior value proposition. Would be good to do the spreadsheet on running costs and depreciation between BMW, i30 and model 3.

    Teslas strategy of charging so much more for autonomous package will look very mean and cynical within a few years when similar tech will be standard on other cars (autonomous braking at very least)

    After market radar from the company that supply 90 car manufacturers, is available for just A$1700, fitted!

    I’ve been bitching that the SR i30s has a space saver spare, but like the model S the model 3 apparently does not have a spare at all.

    Perhaps Tesla can make a price adjustment for those countries that do not have a rebate. Indeed does the rebate artificially inflate the base price? Such government rebates often have that effect!

    1. Craig Allen Avatar
      Craig Allen

      The base model Hyundai i30 sells for $26,000 plus on-road costs. There is no way any of Tesla’s cars will displace them, or the likes of the Toyota Camry, Corolla, Mazda 3 etc. among top selling Australian cars. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait for other manufacturers to introduce models for mainstream buyers I think. Musk hasn’t even hinted at producing truely affordable cars yet. The Tesla model Y will apparently be more pricey than the 3.

      1. Mickjoebill Avatar
        Mickjoebill

        “The base model Hyundai i30 sells for $26,000 plus on-road costs”

        Base is even a little lower. A more relevant comparison to the model 3 is the sporty i30 SR model with the autonomous braking package which I was offered for $28500 on the road and the premium with glass roof for circa $34k.

        Not denying Model 3 is attractive for many reasons other than value.
        For instance, it would be nice to think that in 10 years you could easily fit a newer, lighter and higher capacity battery.

  6. David leitch Avatar
    David leitch

    Good note. The selling pitch for most new cars now is going to be the sensors and improved electronics. Autonomous braking, adaptive cruise control, adaptive high beam, lane departure warning. If you drive a bit, once you get these features it’s hard to go back. And they are low cost because the sensors are cheap and getting cheaper (radar and cameras) and the software scales over the volume.

    These features are mostly available on a Hyundai already so they will be standard on most new cars very soon and not by themselves a selling point.

    Tesla will have to compete like other luxury or semi luxury brands on the total driving experience. It’s low cost of maintenance, styling and electric novelty should play well to that.

    However the first thing is to prove they can manufacture in volume. There are many reasonable doubts on the production schedule at this point.

    What does the cost of the long range upgrade work to in $kwh of extra capacity?

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