Tesla’s cheaper RWD Model Y is now available in the US

Tesla has started taking orders for its cheaper rear-wheel drive Model Y in the US. The $45,990 vehicle costs $37,490 after federal tax subsidies (as long as they still exist), making it the second-cheapest EV in the company’s lineup after the RWD Model 3.

The new option, which Tesla says will start US delivery within the next few weeks, comes with 357 miles of range, or 30 miles more than the all-wheel drive Model Y. It has a single motor on the rear axel, and accelerates from zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds, which is a little slower than the 4.6 seconds of its AWD counterpart.

Tesla needs cheaper EVs to boost sales. Amid growing protests against Tesla CEO Elon Musk targeted Tesla showrooms, Tesla reported its worst sales in three years. Ideally for Tesla, this cheaper EV would reverse its fortunes, although the cheaper Model Ys haven’t had that effect in Europe, where they launched in February. CNN reports that sales continue to drop there, even in the more Tesla-friendly UK, where the company’s April sales plummeted by 62 percent.

Things aren’t looking any better in China, where deliveries dropped by 26 percent compared to March, something the South China Morning Post attributes to a preference for “cheaper, tech-laden” Chinese domestic models.