Tesla teased that there would be a new announcement today, and now the company has revealed a new cheaper variant of the Model Y in the US. Pricing starts at $39,990 and it can be ordered now. While you lose a few extras inside and outside, it still offers a lot of the core Tesla features - but removes some of the 'luxury' add-ons.

This new Model Y has some changes inside and out to bring it down by $5,500 - but what has changed?

What has been changed?

To get the Model Y down to the price it now is, Tesla has had to remove some of the luxury items that the Model 3 and Model Y currently have, these include:

• LED ambient lighting removed
• Front LED light bar swapped out for two separate headlights
• Leather seats replaced with
• No physical key or card offered, smartphone only
• Slightly slower DC charging, 225kW (vs 250kW on higher trims)
• Less range, now 321 miles (vs 357 miles on Premium)
• Cloth and leather seats (vs leather on higher trims)
• Rear LED light bar replaced with separate rear lights
• Rear interior screen removed
• Standard wheels are now fully closed hub caps
• Centre console opened up with walkthrough section

As you can see above, Tesla has made a number of changes to bring the cost down, such as slightly slower DC charging speed, although this checks out as supposedly, the battery in the Model Y Standard is smaller - although Tesla hasn't publicly confirmed this. The acceleration is also slightly slower now capable of 0-60mph in 6.8 seconds, compared to the 5.4 seconds in the Premium trim.

The range has dropped down to 321 miles from the 357 miles found on the Premium trim, although Tesla has said that both this new Model Y and the Model 3 Standard are the most efficient models the company has made to date.

Inside, the same large infotainment screen remains but the centre console has been opened up and the cup holders shifted back. Also the two wireless phone chargers remain. This design resembles the same setup that is found in the Cybertruck.

One major change is the seats, which are now a combination of fabric and leather, rather than being fully leather like the more premium models.

In the back, the rear passenger screen has been ditched and replaced with two USB-C ports.

The placement of this new Model Y is interesting, but it might be worth it for some cost sensitive families, as this brings the car more inline with the recently discounted Hyundai Ioniq 5, which is now $35,000 in the US, but that car has quite a bit less range (245 miles vs Model Y 321 miles).

However, it is good to see Tesla offer some cheaper models in the US, at this time it remains to be seen if this will come to the UK and Europe, as for it is US only.