The cheapest Tesla in history? I can't figure out what Musk is up to.

Thought it was going to be a big deal, but it turned out to be a letdown. Tesla's most anticipated new car this year: the highly - awaited  "Budget - friendly Version" Model Y, to be honest, is really disappointing.

Just early yesterday morning, Tesla quietly announced the configurations and prices of two new cars on its official website:  Model Y and Model 3 Standard Edition.

The names of the existing models have also been changed to Model Y and Model 3 Premium Edition.

Although these two cars are currently only Exclusive to the US market, based on the news that there have been some test cars at the Shanghai Gigafactory, I guess these two new cars will most likely be launched in the Chinese market in the near future.

Well, to avoid confusing everyone, we'll refer to these two new cars as Budget - friendly Versions and the existing models as Current Versions.

Compared with the current models we can buy, the biggest change for these two budget - friendly versions is that almost all the configurations that could be cut have been removed, turning the Tesla 3 & Y, which was already mocked as a "bare - bones house", directly into a "thatched cottage".

Although their positioning is a bit unexpected, people originally had very high expectations for these two cars.

After all, even though the configurations have been downgraded, if the budget - friendly versions of the 3 & Y could be priced at a very affordable price (e.g., 150,000 RMB), with its brand, design, and technology, Tesla might really be able to dominate the affordable pure - electric vehicle market it has been dreaming of, whether in the US, Europe, or China.

However, on October 7th when the budget - friendly versions of the 3 & Y were officially announced, Tesla's stock price dropped by 4.45% on the spot, evaporating more than 463 billion RMB in market value.

The core reason is that, different from people's expectation of  "Good car, low price" , the budget - friendly versions of the 3 & Y seem to be closer to  "Expensive and shabby".

The most representative one is the budget - friendly Model Y.

According to Tesla's US official website, the price of the budget - friendly Model Y is  $39,960. Compared with the current Model Y priced at $44,990, the price reduction of the former is only a pitiful one - ninth.

Converted to the Chinese market, it's only a reduction of 30,000 RMB, bringing the starting price of the Model Y down to 230,000 RMB, which is hardly cheap.

However, at this not - low price, the budget - friendly Model Y has a drastic reduction in configurations that can be described as battle - damaged level.

Obviously, there are changes in the interior and exterior that have been reported before.

For example, the very iconic through - type headlights and reflective taillights on the current Model Y have disappeared, replaced by split headlights on both sides and through - type taillights similar to those of the Model 3.

The changes in the body kit and wheels are also very significant. The shape and structure of the front bumper have become simpler and more plain. At the rear, on the basis of the shape change, the structure of the trunk door has been changed, and the same curved glass as the old - version Y is used. The standard wheel size has been reduced from 19 inches to 18 inches.

The changes inside the budget - friendly Model Y are as huge as those outside, and almost all the previously reported changes are present.

For example, the much - criticized panoramic sunroof has been removed, replaced by a fabric - covered ceiling. The all - leather seats have also been removed, replaced by a combination of leather and fabric, and the seat ventilation and heating for the front seats have been cancelled.

The closed storage space in the center console is also gone, replaced by an open central passage like the one below. The number of speakers has also been halved, from 15 to 7.

In addition, there is no ambient lighting, the rear - view mirrors cannot be retracted electrically, the rear - seat screen is gone, and the double - laminated sound - insulating glass is also missing, etc. These are almost all the configuration downgrades of the budget - friendly Model Y.

By now, some brothers must be saying it seems okay, and a 30,000 - RMB price reduction is still acceptable.

Well, don't rush. The really unexpected part is yet to come.

Under these visible configuration downgrades, the budget - friendly Model Y has actually been downgraded even more severely in the invisible aspects.

I think the most astonishing part is the area after opening the frunk. Take a look at what the frunk of the previous Model Y looked like when opened.

And this is what the frunk of the budget - friendly Model Y looks like after opening.

Not only has the material of the frunk itself changed from the previous waterproof hard plastic to non - waterproof fiber composite material, but Tesla has even saved on the plastic coverings on the side, leaving the structure of the front compartment open directly.

With the large sound - insulation cotton exposed like this, it really feels like one's underwear is showing.

If you're a guy who often parks your car outdoors, you definitely know how annoying this design is.

Whenever there are a few more leaves on the car, they will fall into the frunk when you open the hood. It's already like this when there are coverings. I really can't imagine how difficult it will be to clean this drafty front compartment.

After the panoramic sunroof was removed, people thought that the roof of the budget - friendly Model Y would become an aluminum closed roof commonly seen on gasoline cars.

However, the fact is that the roof material of the budget - friendly Model Y is still glass. The reason why there seems to be no sunroof inside the car is that Tesla directly added a fabric ceiling under the glass roof during production.

Really, I'd like to call it the most amazing design in the history of the automotive industry.

Although it uses a combination of glass and fabric, it perfectly avoids the advantages of glass allowing light in and the ceiling providing heat insulation. On the contrary, because of the cost - reduction of the glass material, this design has become a collection of the disadvantages of glass not providing heat insulation and the ceiling not allowing light in.

It seems that Tesla's product managers are starting to run out of good ideas.

There is a relatively reasonable explanation, which is that modifying from an all - glass roof to a closed roof would require additional costs for molds and verification.

Using cheaper glass with a fabric ceiling actually has the same effect and costs less for Tesla.

However, this way of patching up the old design feels a bit like adding more code to buggy code to create a mess.

Don't rush, there's more.

In the current Model Y, the middle of the rear - seat can be folded down to become an armrest with a cup - holder like this.

Compared with many rear - seat armrests with screens, this solution is actually very simple, right?

However, in the budget - friendly Model Y, the rear - seat cup - holder has become like this: Digging a hole in the seat back as an armrest, which has nothing to do with comfort.

Well, if there's no need for a cup - holder, you can just not put one.

In addition, although the budget - friendly Model Y has electrically adjustable seats, since the adjustment buttons have been removed, people can only adjust the seat position through the screen.

My evaluation of this car is that if it weren't for the fact that it can use the full - fledged FSD, it would just be an ordinary electric car that can be driven normally, with no attractive features at all, including the price. Moreover, on this basis, many basic conveniences for users have been sacrificed.

In contrast, the budget - friendly Model 3 is much more normal.