Tesla has announced that the price of a base Model S will go up $2,000 on November 22. That car today lists for $66,000. The least expensive Model S has a single rear mounted electric motor. It is fitted with a 75 kWh battery that is software limited to 60 kWh. The full capacity of the battery can be unlocked electronically upon the payment of an additional fee of $8,500.
The next step up the ladder is the single motor Model S with the 75 kWh battery fully enabled. It sells for $74,500 — $8,500 more than the price of the entry level car. There is no word on whether its price will also increase soon to keep the $8,500 spread between the two cars in place. If not, then upgrading the battery capacity of the least expensive car will result in a $2,000 penalty to the owner.
On the Tesla website, it says a car ordered today can be delivered in December. Anyone who has been thinking about buying a new Tesla has a few days to act in order to get several financial advantages. First, of course, someone who buys now will save $2,000. Second, he or she will enjoy free unlimited Supercharger access for life. That privilege is going away for any car ordered after January 1, 2017. It will be replaced by an allowance of up to 400 kWH of free Supercharging each year.
Third, cars ordered today are equipped with the Generation 2 hardware suite of 8 cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and a forward facing radar that will allow the car to operate in Enhanced Autopilot mode once the software updates for that system are downloaded and installed. They will also permit any car built now to become a full Level 5 autonomous driving vehicle at some point in the future when self driving cars are approved by regulators.
Lower price, full Supercharger access, and built in autonomy are three powerful reason to go ahead and order that Tesla today. The company is fully committed to delivering as many cars as possible before the end of this year, as it fights to reach its stated goal of delivering up to 90,000 vehicles this calendar year.
With only 218 miles of range according to the EPA, the base Model S at $68,000 plus $1,200 in transportation and documentation fees is within shouting distance of being a $70,000 automobile. That is a lot of money to pay for an electric car with such limited range, even if the federal tax credit helps to soften the blow. But if you want a Tesla and have to deal with the pain of budget constraints, now might be a really good time to indulge yourself.
Source: AutoBlog Photo credit: Tesla
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