Updated Tesla Model Y RWD sold out already in Australia? Electric car brand's website suggests sales aren't so dire with more affordable EVs in future plans

Speculation that Tesla sales are tanking in Australia thanks to the controversial politics of CEO Elon Musk is rife, but is that really the full picture?

While the brand has registered a stark 65.9 per cent sales decline so far this year, according to Electric Vehicle Council data, little attention has been paid to the possibility that thousands of buyers are holding out for the updated Model Y, which was only revealed in January.

And Judging by Tesla Australia’s website, that could very well be the case.

The brand’s cheapest updated Model Y variant, the Rear-Wheel Drive Launch Edition (RWD) ($63,400, before on-road costs) is no longer visible on Tesla’s ‘Order Now’ page on its Australian website, suggesting local allocations have already been exhausted ahead of May deliveries.

Only the Long Range All-Wheel Drive (AWD), which carries a $10,000 premium ($73,400), is available for order, which wasn’t the case when the updated model first appeared on the Tesla website in January.

Seemingly ruling out any potential supply issues, the RWD variant is still being advertised on Tesla’s website in China, where Australian examples are built.

It's also available on Tesla's website in the UK, a fellow right-hand drive market that also sources its cars from China.

CarsGuide has contacted Tesla's Australian operations asking whether the new RWD Model Y is in fact sold out. An update to the article will follow with a response.

In what is likely to be good news for consumers, the exhaustion of the Launch Edition variants suggests a cheaper entry-level Model Y could be on the way even sooner for Australia.

If so, it would likely lose the exclusive features on the Launch Edition, such as a rear lift tailgate, puddle lights, doorsill plates, Launch Edition badging and complimentary premium paint, along with the acceleration boost feature on the AWD variant – which is typically a paid software upgrade.

It might also carry different wheel designs and slightly different interior trims.

A price around the $60,000 mark would be likely to bring it closer to the outgoing Model Y ($55,900), as well as a growing cohort of Chinese rivals, such as the BYD Sealion 7, XPeng G6 and Deepal S07, all of which start below $55,000, before on-road costs.

Alternatively, Tesla did confirm during its Q4 investors meeting in January that budget models are still on track for 2025, which are likely to take shape as watered-down versions of its Model 3 and Model Y.

Details are yet to be confirmed, though, with more information to possibly surface following the new Model Y’s release across global markets by the middle of this year.