Tesla has quietly raised the EPA-estimated range of the rear-wheel-drive Model Y in the U.S. to 348 miles from 321 miles, and it did so without touching the price. The entry-level SUV still starts at $39,990 before fees and taxes, so buyers now get 27 more rated miles, an 8.5% gain, for the same money.
The new figure went live on Tesla’s U.S. online configurator on November 13, 2026. On the sticker it is 27 miles, and for buyers who compare cars on the cost of each mile of range, the base Model Y now works out to about $115 per rated mile, down from roughly $125 before the update.
The new number puts the cheapest Model Y well past the 300-mile mark that is often treated as a benchmark for an EV that can handle longer trips, and it gets there at a price under $40,000. Buyers can no longer count on the $7,500 federal EV tax credit to bring that price down, since the credit ended in September 2025, so the sticker carries more weight in the decision than it did a year ago.
How Tesla likely got there
Tesla has not said what is behind the higher figure. The company has not announced a new battery, a different motor or any other hardware change, and the trim name and price are the same as before, so the most likely source is efficiency and calibration work on the existing car.
That would not be new for Tesla. Over the years it has raised ratings on vehicles already in production several times, often through software and small engineering changes that it did not announce on their own.
There were signs the old rating left something on the table. When Edmunds tested the base Model Y last year, it went 337 miles on a charge, beating its 321-mile EPA rating by 16 miles.
The base model closes in on the Premium RWD
The update narrows the gap between the base car and the next trim up, the Model Y Premium RWD. That version, sold as the Long Range RWD before Tesla renamed it, starts at $45,990 and carries a 357-mile EPA rating on its standard wheels.
Before this week, a buyer who moved up to the Premium RWD got 36 more miles of range. Now the difference is 9 miles, but the $6,000 price gap has not changed. So, the case for the Premium rests more on its upgraded interior and extra features than on range, and for drivers who do not need all-wheel drive the base model now comes within a few miles of it.
Tesla pulls the $41,990 Model Y AWD
The range update came one day after another lineup change. On November 12, Tesla removed the $41,990 Model Y AWD from its U.S. configurator after less than 10 months on sale, and with that trim gone, the RWD is the only entry-level Model Y that buyers can order.
Tesla introduced the AWD version in February, when it added a dual-motor option to its cheaper Model Y and dropped the “Standard” name from that part of the lineup. It cost $2,000 more than the RWD, carried a 294-mile EPA rating and matched the Premium AWD’s 0-60 mph time of 4.6 seconds.
Prices and wait times across the lineup
The cheapest all-wheel-drive Model Y is now the Premium AWD at $49,990, which is $8,000 more than the trim it replaced. Both Premium versions have gone up $1,000 since February, when the Premium RWD sold for $44,990 and the Premium AWD for $48,990.
| Trim | Starting price |
|---|---|
| Model Y RWD | $39,990 |
| Model Y Premium RWD | $45,990 |
| Model Y Premium AWD | $49,990 |
| Model Y Performance AWD | $57,990 |
| Model Y L Launch Series | $61,990 |
With destination and order fees included, Tesla lists estimated purchase prices of $47,630 for the Premium RWD and $51,630 for the Premium AWD, before taxes.
Wait times have grown, too. All Premium trims are sold out for 2026, and new orders now carry estimated delivery dates of January to March 2027, later than the December 2026 to January 2027 window Tesla quoted earlier. Meanwhile, the six-seat Model Y L is quoted for February to April 2027.
Anyone with an order already placed should ask Tesla which EPA rating applies to their build, since vehicles in transit may still come with paperwork listing the older 321-mile figure. Current owners keep the EPA label their car had at delivery.
The company’s fourth-quarter delivery report, expected in early January, could give the first look at how many buyers pick the cheaper Model Y now that it goes farther on a charge.
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