Tesla Model 3 gets a pricey new option in Australia

The Tesla Model 3 is now available in a wider array of exterior finishes, picking up a paint colour from its Model Y sibling.

Available to order now, the Model 3 can now be optioned with Quicksilver – you guessed it, silver – paint, which joined the slightly revised Model Y lineup earlier this year.

As with the recently added Ultra Red finish, Quicksilver adds another $2600 to the purchase price.

This makes it one of the more expensive optional colours, above Stealth Grey ($2300), Solid Black and Deep Blue Metallic ($1500).

The base Pearl White Multi-Coat paint remains the only available colour which doesn’t cost extra.

If you place an order for a Tesla Model 3 RWD or Long Range in Quicksilver today, the carmaker says you can expect delivery between October and November – a few months behind the July to August delivery window of all other finishes.

Quicksilver examples of the upcoming Tesla Model 3 Performance push this out to October to December, rather than the July to September timeframe of other colours.

While Tesla last year expanded its limited range of available colours by offering wraps in seven different hues, it’s not yet brought this service to Australia.

This means blue and red are the only non-shades in the current colour range, and both finishes cost more on a Tesla than other similarly priced electric vehicles (EVs).

For example, the BYD Seal – which is close in size to the Model 3, albeit slightly cheaper – has a fixed fee of $1500 for all colours other than white, however its palette is limited to two blue hues and black.

The Polestar 2’s base Magnesium finish is also its only no-cost colour, with five additional paints – including the champagne-esque Jupiter – incurring a $1500 premium.

Even further down the price list, the GWM Ora and MG 4 have a range of additional colours for $595 and $700, respectively.

Between January and June 2024, Tesla sold 10,600 Model 3s in Australia, an 8.4 per cent drop on the same period last year, despite the arrival of the highly anticipated ‘Highland’ facelift.

It continues to be outsold by its Model Y SUV sibling, which has recorded 12,516 sales.

MORE: Everything Tesla Model 3