Tesla has made a tweak to its model lineup, eliminating the entry-level ‘Standard Range’ variants of its Model S and Model X vehicles. The change means that it’s now more expensive overall to get into either the all-electric Model S sedan or the Model X SUV, but the automakers also lowered the price of the new entry-level ‘Long Range’ variants of each vehicle – and dropped the starting price fo the Model 3 to $38,990.
“To make purchasing our vehicles even simpler, we are standardizing our global vehicle lineup and streamlining the number of trim packages offered for Model S, Model X and Model 3,” Tesla said in a statement to Reuters regarding the reason behind the pricing and lineup changes. “We are also adjusting our pricing in order to continue to improve affordability for customers.”
Reducing the number of model variants at the top end of Tesla’s lineup should help it minimize costs and focus high-end buyer appetite on trim levels with greater profit potential for the automaker with less production complexity. And the upside it gains there can be applied beneficially to cost of the Model 3, which is increasingly the source of the automaker’s growth.
Tesla’s second quarter vehicle deliveries were the highest on record, totalling 95,200 vehicles with the most affordable car in the lineup, the Model 3, accounting for around 80 percent of the overall mix.
