Tesla Model S Gets Yet Another Big Surge in Price
The Tesla Model S Long Range now starts at $89,990, up from a low of $69,420 several months ago.
The automaker has raised the price of the Model S twice in the past several weeks, in $5,000 increments, ahead of the arrival of fresh competition.
The Model S now features yoke-style steering as standard, with no option for a conventional steering wheel.
Tesla vehicle pricing is notorious for its price fluctuations, sometimes angering buyers who've placed orders for cars just days prior to unannounced price drops. But even with this history in the background, the Model S has been on a rollercoaster ride this year.
For starters, after temporarily idling production in January, the first deliveries of the redesigned Model S only began in June of this year, with the updated car adding the now-mandatory yoke-style steering and some fresh bodywork. Additionally, after the Plaid Plus was abruptly canceled, the Model S Plaid quickly grew $10,000 in price.
Not to be outdone, the base Model S surged $5000 a few weeks ago, and has now added an additional $5,000 on top of that, increasing $10,000 overall in the span of about a month.
That's a big change from a starting price of $69,420 last fall. So if you bought a Model S in late 2020, give yourself a pat on the back as odds are you've saved the equivalent of a new Nissan Leaf (after the $7,500 rebate, as EV makers like to remind).
The base Model S Long Range, with a 405-mile EPA range and a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup, now starts at $89,990. The Model S Plaid, on the other hand, will serve up a tri-motor, all-wheel-drive setup with a range of 394 miles, a 200-mph top speed and 1.99-second launches to 60 mph. Among other things, this means that the Model S is down to just two flavors in the US market, both of them offering quite impressive specs.
What's to blame for the price increase? Tesla isn't saying, which is not to imply that it had telegraphed reasons for price increases (or drops) in the past, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated quite openly in the past few months that the automaker is facing a variety of supplier pressures, in addition to efforts to get two new factories up and running.
A few things are probably prudent to keep an eye on in the next year when it comes to the Model S.
First, of course, are delivery schedules that could be subject to more supplier issues in the next 12 months, which could mean generous waiting times to receive a car. Second, the yoke-style steering in the Model S has yet to receive a definitive review from enough new owners, and is perhaps best to be tried firsthand at a Tesla store or event. Third, the Model S will receive two more direct competitors later this year in the form of the Mercedes-Benz EQS and the Audi e-tron GT, in addition to the already available Porsche Taycan. A price increase just before those two new competitors arrive, therefore, is likely a practical move by Tesla to maximize per-car profits before any risk of dilution by fresh metal.
