Depending on the model, you just see two fully exposed pickups and the cavities they’re in. Usually large enough for a single coil pickup in the bridge and a humbucker in the neck.

It won’t sound any different really.

Sounds same, looks naked.

Stick some P90s in there :D
I always find guitars without their scratch plates more sexy.
The sound should be the same unless it’s an all in one thing like on squires.

Oh, and removing the scratch plate won’t really make it more ‘basic’, if that’s what you;re after.
Why not make your own? That’s a fun project, and you can have it as you like then too.
There are plenty of parts on eBay :)

Search “Fender Aerodyne Telecaster.” I have one, and it is awesome. Soapbar neck pickup, and I dropped in a Seymour Duncan “Little ‘59” bridge pickup. It has a polyurethane finish (like a Hagstrom), two knurled knobs, and a standard switch up top. It rocks. You might be able to find one on eBay.

Acoustically (sound-wise) it will not make a difference, but possibly we could help more if we knew what you mean by basic. Are you talking visually—a clean look?

Can I just go ahead and state that the “scratch plate” is called a “Pick Guard”.

@Spargett you can, but it is also known as a scratch plate, a golpeador in Flamenco music, and uncommonly a finger rest.