Tesla Set to Introduce Cheaper Model Y Variant Today
A new “Standard” version could bring the electric SUV’s price down significantly as Tesla looks to reignite slowing EV demand.By Natalie NeffPublished: Oct 07, 2025 12:30 PM EDT
Save Article
CFOTO//Getty Images
Tesla is expected to unveil a lower-cost version of its best-selling Model Y SUV today, a move aimed at nudging demand as subsidies go away.
Hints dropped in a couple teaser videos—one showing a spinning wheel, another a pair of headlights—and chatter across social media have fueled speculation that the new variant will be called the Model Y Standard. It appears likely Tesla is not introducing a brand-new model, but rather offering a stripped-down Model Y with reduced features to lower costs.
This content is imported from instagram. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPcHlhbAfDg/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=13&wp=465&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.autoweek.com&rp=%2Fnews%2Fa68883332%2Fcheaper-tesla-model-y-variant%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A236427.10000002384%7D
Earlier leaks suggest that Tesla plans to drop certain luxury and comfort features, such as premium audio and rear-seat climate control, to hit a target cost reduction of around 10%.
Tesla’s German factory boss reportedly confirmed that the more affordable Model Y will adopt a design with new bumpers, different lighting, and fewer premium touches. If potential buyers are interested in a de-contented, less-luxe offering from the automaker, Tesla may yet expand its sales volume from current levels.
Tesla faces weakening EV demand as tax credits expire, and rivals are rolling out more affordable electric options. A lower-cost Model Y could extend Tesla’s market reach, particularly among buyers who feel priced out of its current lineup.
Still, stripping features without diluting the brand’s appeal is a delicate balance as many automakers have previously learned.
But for a couple of sketchy, short-lived gigs right out of college, Natalie Neff has had the good fortune to spend the entirety of her professional life around cars. A 2017 Honda Ridgeline, 1972 VW Beetle, 1999 Ducati Monster and a well-loved purple-and-white five-speed Schwinn currently call her garage home.
Is the Vittori Turbio a Real Thing?
Or just another nice drawing?By Mark VaughnPublished: Oct 07, 2025 11:27 AM EDTSave Article
VIEW GALLERYPininfarina
- A startup supercar maker with headquarters in Italy, Miami, and, according to its website, Silicon Valley, has shown photos of a prototype supercar.
- Vittori showed off the Turbio, an 870-hp V12 hybrid.
- Pininfarina will manufacture the car, with an engine by Italtecnica.
Have we ever seen this before? Someone with some success in something other than the auto industry decides he can make cars, too, so he launches a supercar.
It looks nice in the drawings and maybe even in the concept stage, but then… what? Making cars is a lot harder than coming up with a nice drawing.
So, is the Vittori Turbio going to happen?
VIEW GALLERYPininfarina
The 6.7-liter V12 makes 830 hp at 8,500 rpm. It’s designed by Italtecnica.
Vittori is standing out by partnering with Pininfarina for production of its 50 Turbio hypercars. Its V12 internal combustion engine will be made by Italtecnica, the engineering firm behind the Totem GT Super and other engines, including a quad-turbo V12 for another project. The engine Vittori has chosen for the Turbio will be a 6.7-liter V12 making 830 hp at 8,500 rpm, with a redline close to 9,000 rpm.
There is no breakdown yet as to how much horsepower the single front-mounted electric motor will make, but Vittori founder and CEO Carlos Cruz said the electric motor was in place more to meet government standards for emissions, and less for any performance advantage.
Controls for the car will lean more toward the analog than the digital, which should be reassuring to anyone who’s ever tried to adjust the outside mirrors on a Polestar. No word on any specifics yet. Not a lot of words on anything yet, which is a little concerning for the future of the product. But why not believe?
Related Stories
- Lamborghini Manifesto Shows Styling Direction
- The Car Condo Concept Is Still Growing
- Theon Design’s 964 911 Cracks 100-HP/Liter Barrier
“This limited-run hybrid hypercar, based on an original visual concept by Vittori and designed in partnership with the legendary Italian design house Pininfarina, will feature a perfect package of impeccable production, quality, craftsmanship, aesthetics, and of course, speed,” the company said in a release.
The company is not short on lofty aspirations.
“We didn’t want to make another supercar—we wanted to build something that feels like flight, like sculpture, like power at your fingertips,” Cruz said. “We sought to build a reality where performance, beauty, control, and freedom could exist in one car—without compromise.”
Those are inspiring sentiments, but lining up a supplier for the door handles is just as important. We’ll see how Vittori manages both.
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed the Blue Oval, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.
