Tesla Delivers First Model Y In Australia and New Zealand

The cars are shipped from China.

By: Mark Kane

Aug 17, 2022 at 5:28pm ET

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Tesla announced that deliveries of the Tesla Model Y started in two new markets - Australia and New Zealand.

It's an important step, especially since various competitors are also increasing their position in the region. Just recently, we heard about the shipment of 1,000 BYD Atto 3 (aka Yuan) in Australia, and earlier this year Polestar entered the market.

For reference, the Tesla Model 3 has been available in Australia since 2019.

In the case of the Tesla Model Y, it comes from the Giga Shanghai plant. In Australia and New Zealand, two versions of the car are available: the entry-level RWD (almost certainly with LFP batteries) and the top-of-the-line Performance version.

Rear-Wheel Drive: $72,300 AUD ($50,200 USD)
Range (WLTP): 455 km (283 miles)
0-100 km/h (62 mph): 6.9 seconds top speed of 217 km/h (135 mph)
Performance: $96,700 AUD ($67,140 USD)
Range (WLTP): 514 km (319 miles)
0-100 km/h (62 mph): 3.7 seconds
top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph)

There is no Long Range AWD version, which is available in China, by the way. In the US, on the other hand, there are LR AWD and Performance versions, but no LFP version (at least not yet).

The unfortunate news for customers in Australia is that the estimated delivery time for new Model Y orders is early 2023 (February-May). In New Zealand, the balance between demand and supply is a bit better, because the timeline is November 2022 - February 2022 (the RWD version ordered today is expected in Nov-Dec 2022 so not that bad).

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Considering that the estimated delivery times for the Model 3 are basically the same, we guess that even with its huge manufacturing capacity in Shanghai, Tesla is really struggling to satisfy the demand.

The same issue of long queues in the US and Canada even caused a temporary halt of orders of one of the Model 3 versions. Nonetheless, Tesla must continue geographical expansion of all its models, even if there is a shortage of supply in existing markets.