Model 3 vs Model Y: What the Running Costs Actually Add Up To
Sam Whitfield, UK EV writer & Tesla owner · published 2026-08-10 · figures checked 2026-07-13.
The list-price gap between a Model 3 and a Model Y is easy to see. The running-cost gap isn't — it's spread across a home electricity bill and a company-car tax bill that most comparisons don't add together. Here's the worked sum, on a fixed 8,000-mile UK year, for the two base trims most buyers actually cross-shop: Model 3 RWD against Model Y RWD.
The two cars, as configured today
| Spec | Model 3 (RWD) | Model Y (RWD) |
|---|---|---|
| List price | £39,990 | £44,990 |
| WLTP range | 318 mi | 311 mi |
| Real-world efficiency | 4.1 mi/kWh | 3.7 mi/kWh |
The Model Y costs £5,000 more to buy and is the less efficient of the two. Both of those differences also show up every year you own the car, not just on the invoice.
Step 1 — home-charging cost on 8,000 miles a year
Using this site's example home rate of 24.5p/kWh (edit this to your own tariff on the Charging Cost Calculator — it's not fixed), 8,000 miles a year needs:
- Model 3 RWD: 8,000 ÷ 4.1 mi/kWh = 1951 kWh → £478/yr
- Model Y RWD: 8,000 ÷ 3.7 mi/kWh = 2162 kWh → £530/yr
The Y's lower mi/kWh figure means the same 8,000 miles costs about £52 more a year to put through a home charger, even at an identical electricity rate.
Step 2 — company-car tax at the 2026/27 BiK rate
Both cars sit in the zero-emission Benefit-in-Kind band, taxed at 4% of list price for 2026/27 (GOV.UK). For a 40% taxpayer, the annual income-tax cost of that benefit is list price × 4% × 40%:
- Model 3 RWD: £39,990 × 4% × 40% ≈ £640/yr
- Model Y RWD: £44,990 × 4% × 40% ≈ £720/yr
This row tracks the purchase price directly, so it repeats the list-price gap every single tax year a company-car driver keeps the car — it doesn't shrink after year one the way a one-off cost would.
The total gap
Add the two together and, on this basis, a Model Y RWD costs roughly £132/yr more to run than a Model 3 RWD — about £52 of it in electricity, the rest in company-car tax:
| Model | Home charging (8,000 mi/yr) | BiK tax, 40% band | Total per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model 3 (RWD) | £478 | £640 | £1118 |
| Model Y (RWD) | £530 | £720 | £1250 |
| Model 3 Long Range AWD | £503 | £720 | £1223 |
| Model Y Long Range AWD | £544 | £832 | £1376 |
The Long Range pair shows the same pattern, wider: roughly £153/yr between them, because the price gap between those two trims is bigger than between the two RWD versions. Run your own mileage and tariff on the Model Comparison tool — the 2026-07-13 defaults above are a starting point, not your actual bill.
Where the referral fits — and where it doesn't
A verified referral adds 650 free Supercharging miles to whichever of these two you order. Worked out the same way as the running costs above, that's roughly £65–£93 depending on the model and whether you hold a Supercharging membership — see the exact figures for all four variants in our companion post, What a Tesla UK Referral Is Worth, Model by Model. It's real money, but it's a one-off on the day the car is handed over. The £132/yr running-cost gap above repeats every year you own the car — a referral doesn't close it, and it isn't meant to. Decide which car to order on the running-cost table; then make sure whichever one you choose still has a verified code attached before you pay.
A verified code for whichever one you order
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Copy link copies the whole URL (tesla.com/…) — there is no UK checkout field for a bare code. Open it first, then configure & order; the referral shows in your order summary before payment. Referral disclosure.
This post discloses referral links plainly: they are marked rel="nofollow sponsored", and we (or the pooled owner) may earn Tesla credits if you order through one — it costs you nothing extra. Tesla VoltBench is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tesla, Inc. Full referral disclosure.
Compare the full current line-up on the Model Comparison tool, or start from the calculator hub.