It’s 2025. High starting price tags on vehicles in every segment are the norm. Four-figure horsepower figures and sub-3-second 0-60 times are also more commonplace than in years past. So, with ballistically fast gas-powered cars and EVs on the market, can the once shockingly quick Tesla Model 3 Performance maintain its claim to performance bargain status? 

Even with Tesla ownership at an all-time low regarding popularity, the Model 3 Performance is a serious performance bargain

In 2018, the dual-motor, pre-facelift Tesla Model 3 Performance managed a sprint to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. That put the 455-horsepower top-trim Model 3 ahead of a 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody of the time. Needless to say, the Model 3 Performance was an instant performance benchmark. And its starting price put it well below other, pricier straight-line heroes.

Now, the Model 3 is enjoying its first facelift, and with it, another generation of the dual-motor Performance trim. However, while the previous generation dispatched a dash to 60 mph in around three and a half seconds, the 2025 model did the deed in 2.8 seconds in testing.

In the standing quarter mile, the new Model 3 Performance crossed the finish line in 11 seconds flat at 125 mph. That damn near ties the performance-oriented baby Tesla with a $166,000 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

Before the perhaps ill-fated $7,500 federal incentive, Tesla says the Performance trim starts at around $54,990. While that’s considerably more expensive than the base model, the facelifted Performance trim is the quickest new car on the market at its price point.

What’s more, the controversial EV automaker added a sport-tuned suspension, upgraded brakes, and staggered rubber to the Model 3 Performance. The result? A Model 3 that will corner compliantly instead of just sprinting in straight lines.

We’ve listed how the Tesla Model 3 Performance’s thrust stacks up to other performance cars at varying price points below.