Tesla Rearranges Pricing and Trims for the Umpteenth Time, and You'll Pay for It

Tesla’s Model S 60 has come and gone only to show up again as the “bargain” Tesla, even though it’s actually just a cheaper Model S 75 with a stingy computer.

Now, inside information suggests it’ll be going up in price even if you decided not to add the company’s cool new transparent roof. With the automaker seemingly hoping to squeeze every last buck out of its lineup, the top-flight versions of both of its models have now been propelled into the pricing stratosphere.

The value of the electric credits Tesla sells has hit a plateau, and with Elon Musk fuming over it, the company may just be looking for a way to make a quick buck without borrowing or holding a stock sale. Electrek broke the news on the price increase after consulting an inside source that had previously given them information on Tesla’s Powerwall charging station.

The everyman Model S 60 that this alleged $2,000 would be tacked onto is essentially the S 75 with a software-restricted battery set to only 60 kilowatt hours. Previously, you could purchase a Model S 75 for $74,500 or the same car with features removed for $66,000 and pay the difference of $8,500 to unlock the battery’s full potential.

There are two ways to look at this: Either consumers are getting a slightly less great deal on what is essentially a higher trim car, or they are being taxed for being too poor to buy the more expensive car from go.

Confusing pricing isn’t all Tesla is working on. The company announced the confirmation of its in-house glass technology group a few days ago, and those folks must be hard at work, given that the Model S design studio has added an full glass roof to the car. The website has it as a $1,500 option and bumped up the panoramic sunroof to $2,000 — $500 more than it used to be.

Having sat under the panoramic sunroof on partly cloudy day, I would urge anyone looking into an entirely glass roof to invest in some kind of retractable sunshade or get extra familiar with the climate function on your phone. Also, consider buying a floppy gardener’s hat to wear around while driving.

Tesla has also removed the P90D variant of the Model S and Model X lineup as of late Thursday evening. This leaves the P100D as the only performance option and the only one with the braggadocious “ludicrous mode.” It also leaves an Audi A5’s worth of pricing distance between the 100 kWh vehicles and the next highest trim.

The glass roof is available now, the P90D is never available again, and the price increase on the base Model S should arrive on November 22.

[Image: Tesla Motors]