Customers in the United Kingdom, some of whom have been waiting as long as three years, will finally get their hands on their "affordable" right-hand drive Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles (EVs) in June.
Tesla said first Model 3s will go to customers that placed the earliest reservations, with deliveries starting in June. Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously hinted at a May launch date for the most "affordable" car in Tesla's range, but this hasn't come to pass.
Analysts noted that despite the long wait time for the Model 3, demand has surprisingly remained strong throughout those three excruciating years. Unfortunately for Brits, Tesla won't sell the cheapest version of the Model 3 in the UK.
What Brits will get are iterations of the Model 3 that are more expensive than similar models sold in the United States. You can blame this on shipping and logistics costs since all Tesla EVs are made in the U.S. and have to be shipped via freighters to the UK.
Thus, prices for the Model 3 in the UK start at £38,900 ($50,853) for the Standard Range Plus model; £47,900 ($62,691) for the Long Range model and £56,900 ($74,385) for the Performance model.
By comparison, U.S. retail prices start at $39,500, $49,500 and $59,500 for the above models, respectively, but don't include taxes.
Tesla said the prices for these iterations of the Model 3 include a UK government-funded plug-in car grant of £3,500 ($4,600). It also said fuel savings from using these EVs amount to £9,500 ($12,500).
The company, however, didn't say how much it will cost to charge the Model 3, which is exempt from using Tesla's network of Superchargers for free. Model S and X owners get free lifetime use of Tesla Superchargers.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously said free Supercharging would be too expensive for Tesla to provide to owners of the lower-cost vehicle. But since Tesla isn't selling this cheap Model 3 in the UK, it's not clear if Tesla will still abide by Musk's decision.
Adding Full Self-Driving Capability will cost £4,900 ($6,405) if the autonomous software is installed before delivery, or £6,800 ($8,889) if it's added later on. Those options are priced at $5,000 and $7,000, respectively, in the US.
A note of caution, however. Tesla warns that "The currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous."
