The last Tesla Model Y propulsion is the perfect example: under its air of a sober and accessible family SUV, it hides a regulatory subtlety which can transform a good deal into salty addition.
Two versions of the Y model, two weights, two measurements
In the new range, Tesla offers two main versions of the Model Y in propulsion: classic “propulsion” and “great propulsion autonomy”. On paper, the differences seem minimal: a few kilometers of autonomy in addition, a more expensive battery on the second, and especially … a gap of 27 kilos on the scale.
The paradox is there: the most efficient version, the great autonomy, weighs 1 976 kg, when the propulsion very short displays 2,003 kg. The difference? An LFP (Lithium-Fer-Phosphate) battery that is heavier for the basic version, cheaper to produce but less efficient than the NMC (Nickel-Manganesse-Cobalt) battery of the great autonomy!
This technical detail could have remained anecdotal, if the city of Paris had not chosen to tighten the screw on the vehicles deemed too heavy. Since last fall, any vehicle exceeding 2,000 kg has been classified in the “SUV” category in the tax sense of parking, regardless of its design or motorization. Result: the triple hourly rate.
In fact, parking a propulsion model in a central area today costs € 18 an hour for € 6 for a lighter car. On a typical day, two hours of parking, the difference reaches € 16 (and not in the center) … and climbs almost € 4,000 over a year for a motorist who parked daily in the capital!
Light vehicles
Heavy vehicles
An environmental nonsense
Ironically, this surcharge strikes the most sober version more heavily. According to official data, the Model Y propulsion consumes on average 13.9 kWh/100 km, against 14.2 kWh for its more powerful big sister. In other words, lighter but less sober, the great autonomy version nevertheless escapes tax punishment.
For many Parisian homes, the calculation is therefore absurd: the cheapest version for purchase becomes the most expensive on a daily basis. As for the objective of discouraging energy -consuming vehicles, it fades behind a purely weighting criterion, without direct link with real emissions or the place occupied on the public highway.
With this regulation, the town hall of Paris intends to pursue its policy to fight the SUV and the individual car, deemed too bulky. But this screw tour, supposed to reward lighter vehicles, ends up penalizing the electric family models which already make the effort to switch to zero emission.
For Tesla, the situation is all the more paradoxical since the large autonomy version, sold around € 2,000 more, becomes mechanically more interesting for any motorist regularly parked in the capital. Pay more expensive to buy to pay less on the parking meter: a reasoning increasingly common among those who have the means … but one more brake for others.
Still, beyond the Tesla case, this situation raises a wider question: Can we really encourage electrical transition by indistinctly hitting all vehicles in the name of weight hunting?
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