The rear-wheel-drive Model Y carries the same 60 kWh lithium iron phosphate pack as the Model 3 RWD under a taller, heavier body, and the numbers follow from that: 380 km observed against the saloon’s 450, at 158 Wh/km against 133. What it keeps is the chemistry’s one real advantage — a pack you can fill to 100 per cent every night without thinking about it.
The cost of the body
A Model Y RWD and a Model 3 RWD leave the factory with identical batteries, and the SUV goes 70 km less far on one. That gap is aerodynamics and mass, not battery, and it is the clearest illustration on this site of why efficiency decides range more than capacity does. The Wh/km explainer walks through it, and the full field is ranked on most efficient electric cars.
Against its own sibling, the Model Y Long Range AWD goes 455 km observed from 75 kWh. The RWD gives up 75 km and the second motor; it gets back a lower price and the LFP charging habit.
Charging
The DC peak is 175 kW and the 10 to 80 per cent window is 24 minutes — three minutes quicker than the Long Range AWD’s 27, for the usual reason that a smaller pack has less to take on. On a 150 kW station the car is close to its own ceiling already; a 350 kW post adds nothing, as it adds nothing to any 400-volt car on this site. The mechanics of that are in do you need a 350 kW charger.
At home the onboard charger is 11 kW: a little under six hours from empty. Tesla’s guidance for this pack is to charge it to 100 per cent at least weekly.
Charging time and running cost for the Tesla Model Y RWD are worked out in full on its own page. It works the numbers through at every charger power, with the tariff and efficiency assumptions printed rather than assumed: Tesla Model Y RWD charging time and cost.
Where it is sold
These are the European car’s figures (EV Database, Juniper RWD, 2025-2026). The United States gets a differently specified “Standard” rear-drive Model Y for 2026 with a larger pack, so there is no current EPA record for this exact car and we leave the US fields blank rather than borrow a neighbour’s.
Frequently asked questions
How far does the Tesla Model Y RWD really go on a charge?
About 380 km in independently observed mixed driving, against 534 km on the WLTP cycle. The shortfall is larger than the Model 3 RWD’s because the SUV body costs efficiency, not because the battery is different.
Does the Model Y RWD have an LFP battery?
Yes — 60 kWh usable of lithium iron phosphate, the same pack as the Model 3 RWD. It is the only Model Y version Tesla recommends charging to 100 per cent routinely.
How long does the Model Y RWD take to charge?
About 24 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent on DC, and a little under six hours from empty on an 11 kW home wallbox.
Model Y RWD or Long Range AWD?
The Long Range goes 75 km further on a charge and has all-wheel drive; the RWD is cheaper, charges to 80 per cent three minutes sooner and can live at 100 per cent. If your driving is local and you charge at home, the RWD’s chemistry is the more useful difference. They are compared line by line in Model Y RWD vs Long Range.