Tesla has dropped the price of two of its models, but you get more than you pay for. You’ll just have to pay more if you want to use it.
After discontinuing the cheapest -- $76,000 and $82,000 -- Model S and X models earlier this month, which set the new entry prices at $94,000 and $97,000, Tesla has introduced $84,000 and $88,000 versions of the cars and lowered the prices of the others by $1,000.
What is interesting about this is that the new base cars have ranges of 310 and 270 miles per charge, but come with the same size battery pack as the more expensive models, which are rated at 335 and 295 miles. The only difference is the software, which restricts how much of the pack can be used.
This simplifies production, and Tesla offers customers the option of unlocking the 8 percent of extra range at any time with an over-the-air update for $8,000, which comes out to $320 per mile.
This isn’t the first time Tesla has done this sort of thing. When the Model S first launched in 2012 the lowest-priced version was listed with a 40 kWh battery pack, but due to reportedly low demand Tesla actually equipped it with a 60 kWh pack that could be unlocked later for a fee. It did it a few more times as it discontinued several models in favor of ones with larger batteries.
Tesla says this makes the cars more valuable in the used car market, because any subsequent owner can get the battery unlocked. It has also temporarily enabled the full capacity during natural disasters that require evacuation, like Hurricane Florence last year.
On January 1, the federal tax credit available to Tesla customers was cut in half to $3,750, which has precipitated several changes to its model lineup. It will be reduced again to $1,870 on July 1 before expiring altogether at the end of 2019.
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