Tesla opened orders in Australia on 1 October 2026 for a new rear-wheel-drive Model 3 at A$45,900 before on-road costs. That sits A$9,000 under the Premium rear-wheel-drive grade, which remains in the lineup at A$54,900. CarExpert and EV Central both reported the price the same morning, and both said showroom cars and customer deliveries are due from mid-to-late October.
The new grade is a battery-electric sedan, not a plug-in hybrid. Tesla cut the sticker by removing equipment, not by announcing a smaller battery. Both outlets say the pack is carried over from the Premium rear-wheel-drive car, and that Tesla has not published the capacity or the AC and DC charge rates. Claimed range is 572 km on the WLTP cycle, 52 km more than the Premium rear-wheel-drive grade in those same reports. The 0–100 km/h time is listed at 6.2 seconds.
The equipment list is where the A$9,000 goes. The rear passenger touchscreen is deleted. Seat faces use textile inserts rather than the Premium grade’s full synthetic leather. Speakers drop from nine to seven, cabin lighting is limited to the footwells, and the steering column is adjusted by hand. What stays, according to both reports, is the panoramic glass roof, the 16-inch front screen, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, wireless phone charging, and a powered boot lid. The entry car uses 18-inch Prismata wheels.
The rest of the Australian Model 3 price card is Premium rear-wheel drive at A$54,900, Premium long-range rear-wheel drive at A$61,900, and Performance all-wheel drive at A$80,900, all before on-road costs. On those advertised prices the new grade undercuts the BYD Seal Premium at A$52,990 and the Kia EV4 Air at A$49,990. Neither outlet treated a drive-away comparison as final, because on-road charges and rival offers still move the number a buyer actually pays.
Two optional functions need a plain reading. Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is offered at A$149 a month, and both CarExpert and EV Central note that a person still has to supervise the car. Power Share, Tesla’s way of running appliances from the traction battery, needs a separate outlet adapter bought from Tesla. CarExpert adds that this applies to model-year 2027 vehicles and cannot be added later to older Model 3s.
Tesla’s country director for Australia and New Zealand, Thom Drew, called the grade “the most affordable way” for buyers in those two markets to own a Tesla. The line is about local pricing. It does not change stickers in the United States, the United Kingdom, or the UAE. Readers using GetEVCar’s Tesla pages should treat A$45,900 as an Australian price before on-road costs.
Warranty terms in both reports match the wider Australian range: five years with unlimited kilometres on the vehicle, and eight years or 160,000 km on the battery and drive unit, with at least 70 percent of battery capacity retained through that cover.
EV Central also reported that a cheaper Model Y grade sold in other countries has not been confirmed for Australia. The Model Y is a separate battery SUV. This week’s price change is the Model 3 sedan only.
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