Tesla delivers big price cuts to Model S and Model X vehicles

Tesla made a flurry of announcements this afternoon, with the highlight being the company’s reveal of its $35,000 Model 3. That reveal grabbed the most headlines, but updates to the Model S and Model X lines brought the costs of high-end models down, with maxed-out Performance + Ludicrous Mode versions of the S and X receiving healthy $18,000 discounts.

The Model S has the same entry-level price at $79,000, but the price bump to go from the Standard Range to more souped-up versions is a lot more accessible, with some huge price drops on the Long Range and Performance models.

The Long Range Model S, which takes the top speed from 140 mph to 155 mph and the range from 270 miles to 335 miles, now prices in at $83,000, down from $93,000. With $4,000 separating the standard and long-range models, it’s interesting that they even decided to keep the Standard Range version and didn’t just have the Long Range as the entry-level model with the Performance version (now $13,000 cheaper at $99,000) maxing things out.

The Long Range Model X now starts at $88,000, down from $96,000. Moving up to the Performance model, which drops the 0-60 mph time to 3.5 seconds, is $104,000, previously $117,000. With both Performance models of the S and X, you can add Ludicrous Mode for $15,000, an upgrade that used to be $20,000.

How is Tesla able to make these big cuts? Well, Tesla CEO Elon Musk highlighted the company’s coming closure of its physical dealerships as a major catalyst for the price drop across its product line.

“Shifting all sales online, combined with other ongoing cost efficiencies, will enable us to lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than we expected,” the company wrote in a post.

Via Tesla:

Model S variants 

  • Standard Range ($79K): 270-mile range; 140 mph top speed; 4.2-sec 0-60 mph.
  • Long Range (now $83K; previously $93K): 335-mile range; 155 mph top speed; 4.1-sec 0-60 mph. 
  • Performance (now $99K; previously $112K): 315-mile range; 155 mph top speed; 3.0-sec 0-60 mph. 
  • Performance + Ludicrous Mode (now $114K; previously $132K); 155 mph top speed; 2.4-sec 0-60 mph. 

Model X variants

  • Long Range (now $88K; previously $96K): 295-mile range; 155 mph top speed; 4.7-sec 0-60 mph.
  • Performance (now $104K; previously $117K): 289-mile range; 155 mph top speed; 3.5-sec 0-60 mph. 
  • Performance + Ludicrous Mode (now $119K; previously $137K): 289-mile range; 155 mph top speed; 2.8-sec 0-60 mph.