Is Tesla Model Q the answer for Australia?

Tesla’s all-new small SUV, dubbed the Model Q in some quarters, will be the most affordable vehicle in the US car-maker’s portfolio when it arrives in the next couple of years.

Despite official evidence of a more affordable addition to Tesla’s line-up, the company’s local leadership remains tight-lipped about whether Aussies will ever see it on their roads – especially if it turns out to be a hatchback rather than an SUV.

During a recent interview, Tesla Australia director Thom Drew dodged direct confirmation when asked if the Model Q name was locked in, quipping, “You tell me!”

Pressed on whether a smaller, more affordable Tesla SUV would be on the cards for Australia, Drew was open to the idea.

“I can’t speculate on future products,” he said. “The only commentary that I’m privy to is what has been said on our earnings calls to the public – that there is a less expensive vehicle in the works, and that’s really all I’m across.

“If that’s the case, I’m sure we’ll be putting our hand up for that as well,” he added, signalling that a circa-$40,000 Tesla would make sense in Australia.

Tesla Australia’s interest in a small EV remains uncertain, while Drew pointed out that smaller passenger vehicles haven’t been the top choice for Australian buyers.

“We’d need to do some further analysis on that market segment,” he cautioned.

“Obviously, hatchbacks and so on aren’t necessarily the product that people are chasing these days,” he explained, hinting the new model could be a hatchback and not an SUV as widely expected.

Small SUVs were the third largest new car segment in terms of sales in Australia for 2024, behind only utes and mid-size family SUVs.

Small cars or hatchbacks accounted for 7.6 per cent of total Australian car sales in 2024, which was roughly half the number of small SUVs.

“So we would need to see if there’s another product that we’re creating – and if it’s an SUV – and there’s a lot of variables there that we’d need to analyse before I could really comment on that,” he said.

Tesla’s cryptic approach to new model reveals comes as its Australian and global sales decline in 2025. Increased competition from legacy automakers, aggressive pricing from Chinese EV brands and the first-generation Model Y’s run out have all impacted its market dominance.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s larger-than-life public persona has done little to instil confidence in investors or consumers.

Whether the so-called Model Q will ever make it Down Under remains unclear, so Australian Tesla fans will simply have to wait and see before Musk’s next big idea materialises.

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