Tesla Kills 'Affordable' 60 KWh Model S as Model 3 Approaches
Tesla is taking its most affordable model off the market next month. In order to “simplify the ordering process,” the automaker has decided to abandon the Model S 60 and 60D, according to its official newsletter.
It hasn’t even been a full year since the 60kWh trim returned after the more-expensive Model S 70 replaced it in 2015. Good riddance.
With the Model 3 right around the corner, it doesn’t really make sense to keep the Model S 60. Despite selling the base trim several thousand dollars less than the 75, it’s the exact same car. The only appreciable difference is that the 75 kWh battery has been digitally limited to perform as if it’s a 60 kWh unit.
So, Tesla only makes the big bucks when customers decide to pay extra to “unlock” the EV’s full capabilities and effectively convert it into a 75 through a software update. However, when the Model 3 comes out at roughly half the price and with an almost identical range, nobody in their right mind would opt for the 60. Cheapskates will follow the savings and everyone else will just rationalize a more expensive purchase.
In the brief emailed newsletter, Tesla even admitted that the 60 wasn’t selling as well as anticipated and “most customers ended up buying an equivalent to the Model S 75kWh.” However, Tesla may still lose a handful of budget-minded shoppers in the period between the Model S 60’s death and the Model 3’s birth. There has to be six or seven penny-pinching upper-middle-class types who don’t want to wait for the company’s upcoming $35,000 EV but can’t convince themselves to spend one red cent above $68,000 — before the juicy federal tax credit for green cars, of course.
Consumers have until April 16th to decide if they want the Model S 60, so you still have just under a month to make a huge mistake. After that, the entry Model S will be the 75 kWh version, starting at a pre-credit price of $77,800.
Deliveries of reserved Model 3s should begin at the very end of this year and continue well into 2018.
[Image: Tesla Motors]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I expect further adjustments to the product mix as the Model 3 nears. It is widely expected to offer optional battery capacities up to 90 kWh, which would push range to well over 300 miles. Tesla will need to further differentiate the Model 3 to avoid cannibalizing Model S sales, probably in the areas of performance and trim. Ultimately, the Model S needs a redesigned v2.0 to appear, as it's already in its 6th model year.
Just curious, are there Model 3 pre-production cars driving around Cal? Isn't their SOP date just a few months away now?