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Tesla drops ‘Standard Range’ Model S and Model X, lowers prices of ‘Long Range’ variants and Model 3
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 of 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. And the upside it gains there can be applied beneficially to the 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, totaling 95,200 vehicles, with the most affordable car in the lineup, the Model 3, accounting for around 80% of the overall mix.
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Tesla says solar roof is on its third iteration, currently installing in 8 states
Tesla is currently installing its solar roof product in eight states, according to Elon Musk, speaking at the Tesla Annual Shareholder Meeting on Tuesday. The solar roof-tile project has had a relatively long genesis since being unveiled three years ago, in 2016.
In 2017, the company claimed its first-ever installations of the Tesla solar roof, after opening up orders for the product in the second quarter of that year. Musk noted during the company’s Q2 2017 earnings call that both himself and Tesla CTO JB Straubel had the tiles installed and operating on their homes.
The company also announced last year that it had entered into a partnership with Home Depot to sell its solar panels, along with its PowerWall home battery, but that was about its traditional panels specifically, not the new tile product. The tiles are designed to look like high-quality home tiles people use currently, with integrated solar panels that are not easily identified from ground level, in order to provide a more aesthetically pleasing solution.
In addition to having installations run in eight states, Musk said the solar roof product is currently on version three, and that this version is very exciting to him because it offers a chance of being at cost parity with an equivalent entry-level cheap traditional tile, when you include the cost of utilities you’d be saving by generating your own power instead.
Regarding timelines for wider rollout of the solar roof products at the costs he anticipates, his own words probably say it best: “I’m sometimes a little optimistic about time frames — it’s time you knew,” he joked at the meeting.
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New registrations for electric vehicles doubled in US since last year
Electric vehicles, still a small percentage of the total automotive market in the U.S., are beginning to gain ground, according to analysis by IHS Markit.
There were 208,000 new registrations for electric vehicles in the U.S. last year, more than double the number filed in 2017, IHS said Monday.
That growth in EVs was heavily concentrated in California, as well as nine other states that have adopted the Zero Emission Vehicle program. California was the first to launch the ZEV program‚ a state regulation that requires automakers to sell electric cars and trucks there. Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont are also ZEV states.
California accounted for nearly 46 percent, or 95,000, of new EV registrations in 2018, IHS said. California has 59 percent of market share of registered electric vehicles in the U.S.
Those numbers are expected to push even higher over the next two years as more electric vehicles come on the market and an increasing number of existing EV owners stick with the technology.
More than 350,000 new EVs will be sold in the U.S. in 2020. Those figures will give EVs a still tiny 2 percent share of the total U.S. fleet. By 2025, that figure is expected to rise to more than 1.1 million vehicles sold, or a 7 percent share, according to recent IHS Markit.
The Tesla’s Model 3 is the top-selling all-electric in the U.S. so far this year, followed by the Chevy Bolt, Tesla Model X, Tesla Model S and the Nissan Leaf, according to estimates by Inside EVs. More EVs are just now coming onto the market, or about to in the coming months , including the Kia Niro EV and Hyundai Kona EV. Startup Rivian expects to start production in 2020.
“A rapid increase in EV nameplates is the catalyst behind the projected growth throughout the next decade,” Devin Lindsay, IHS Markit powertrain analyst said in a statement. “While relatively successful models such as the Tesla Model 3 mature in the market, other traditional automakers will be rolling out not just one EV as we have seen in the past, but multiple models off dedicated EV platforms.”
IHS found that loyalty rates for EVs have also increased, with nearly 55 percent of all new EV owners who returned to market during the fourth quarter of 2018 acquiring (purchasing or leasing) another EV, up from 42 percent in the prior quarter.
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Jaguar reveals the new all-electric I-PACE SUV
Jaguar has finally fully revealed the official I-PACE all-electric SUV, a vehicle with just under 240 miles of range and a 0 to 60 mph time of under five seconds. The car can also charge to 80 percent from empty in 40 minutes using special quick charger hardware, and a 15-minute top-up is good for around 62 miles of additional range. The I-PACE looks like Jaguar’s best attempt to do a… Read More
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Porsche’s EV lead takes shots at Tesla while hyping the Mission E
Porsche is readying its Mission E for launch, with a 2019 target sales date. The all-electric Tesla Model S competitor has a lot of car fans excited, and has been drawing covetous looks since the concept’s unveiling back in 2015. Now that launch is drawing closer, however, we have some new info about the car, how it charges and its performance. Porsche EV lead Stefan Weckbach told a group… Read More
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Ontario’s Provincial Police reveal a Tesla Model X pursuit vehicle prototype
Tesla’s Model X is arguably the best performing SUV you can buy, so it’s fitting that Canada’s Ontario Provincial Police would select it for a cruiser demonstration vehicle, revealed at this week’s Toronto international car show. The Tesla Model X, a P90D model, features full OPP badging and black and white paint, as well as working lights and sirens, but it’s… Read More
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Tesla to help build on-site charging stations for its first Semi customers
Tesla is going to be working with its first pilot customers for its all-electric Semi truck to build charging stations at their shipping facilities, Reuters reports. We know relatively little about how Tesla will be piloting its truck thus far, but this new info sheds some light on the charging component of the puzzle. Tesla will be working with Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi and UPS at least to build… Read More
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My Tesla Model X test drive made me an Autopilot superfan
This past week, I’ve had the chance to try out a brand new Tesla Model X P100D, on loan from Tesla for my use during a trip in and around San Francisco.
Needless to say, the car got a lot of attention, especially given its all-black exterior and high contrast all-white leather cabin styling. And of course, the P100D’s instant, extreme acceleration was a blast to use first-hand… Read More
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Tesla made 2,425 Model 3s in Q4 2017, aims to make 2,500 weekly by end of Q1 2018
Tesla produced a lot more Model 3 cars during the last quarter of 2017 than it did during Q3: it produced 2,425 cars during the quarter, adding to its production total of 23,565 vehicles overall, including Model S and Model X vehicles. That’s a significant increase from the 260 it made in Q3 last year, but still off its expected pace. Read More
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UPS reserves 125 Tesla Semi fully electric heavy-duty trucks
Tesla has another new high-profile customer – UPS, which has placed the largest order yet for Tesla Semi advance reservations. The shipping giant pre-ordered 125 Tesla Semi trucks, besting PepsiCo’s 100 vehicle order from last week. UPS has a fleet of around 8,500 alternative fuel vehicles already in service around the world, the company says, and has made a commitment to reduce… Read More
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