40kwh Model S canceled

[kevincwelch]

• There's no reason why there should be a storm over this...depending on what they do with pricing.

I agree. If 60 or 85 kWh owners are upset that "40 kWh" buyers have a little more acceleration than they originally purchased and an unusable portion of the battery that makes a 60 kWh car essentially a 40 kWh car, I think that's a bit childish.

It obviously is financially better for Tesla to do this, and thinking about the scale of economy here, it seems like a good move.

I'm sure the vast majority of 40 kWh buyers (all 4% of them) would have no means or desire to "hack" their Teslas to tap that extra 20 kWh. So, I'm sure there are a few out there who will risk it all to tap that additional reserve. Good for them.

The only thing that I think is a slightly disappointing is that the 40 kWh owners will be able to "upgrade" their batteries in the future. those with 60 and 85 kWh batteries have no such option at this point in time. (The flip side of this is that 40 kWh owners really aren't upgrading their batteries per se.)

 

[Al Sherman]

Does the 40kWh get the Supercharger hardware? They said they were putting the Supercharger hardware in all of the 60kWhs but did they mean that by battery or car model?

The way I read it: All Model S cars going forward will be "capable" of supercharging.

 

[ggies07]

I wonder if they are focusing more on the Gen III model now that they took away the 40 kWh?......They obviously think their "level 2 - Medium price" is drawing a line at the 60 kWh battery and can work on "level 3" now.

 

[Bearman]

What if the 40kwh owners could rent the extra capacity for special occasions, just call Tesla and they will flip a switch in the software and charge the credit card. Then after time is up they flip the switch back (or the switch could be set by timer).

 

[kevincwelch]

I wonder if they are focusing more on the Gen III model now that they took away the 40 kWh?......They obviously think their "level 2 - Medium price" is drawing a line at the 60 kWh battery and can work on "level 3" now.

They obviously know now what 20,000 people+/- will pay for an exceptional electric car. Maximize profits for the Model S and Model X and save the smaller batteries for the Gen III development.

 

[NigelM]

I wonder if they are focusing more on the Gen III model now that they took away the 40 kWh?....

Model X comes first.

 

[WarpedOne]

Except we know the cells are around 250Wh/kg, so the weight difference between the two does not accurately reflect only the cells.

There is another angle to it - max C rates. 60 kWh has 70% capacity and 83% power of 85 kWh model. 85kWh model S draws up to 3.1C at 270 kW. 'Pure' 60kWh would draw up to 3.75C at 225kW out of same cells.
I guess there is more than 60kWh cells in 60kWh models explaining the 'added' weight, somewhere around 70kWh. I bet 85kWh also has some 'hidden' capacity.

 

[scole04]

Ill be waiting for Tesla to drop that 2k refund back in my account! Looking at there sales numbers that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[K Hall]

I guess there is more than 60kWh cells in 60kWh models explaining the 'added' weight, somewhere around 70kWh. I bet 85kWh also has some 'hidden' capacity.

I can range charge my MS to 315 Miles.

 

[dsm363]

This is good news all the way around. Shows that people are going after the more expensive versions which is good for the company. They had to walk a fine line with their solution to canceling the 40 kWh and not angering everyone and think they did that. If you ordered the 40 kWh version, you now can use the car as you originally intended and if you realize you made a mistake and need more range than you thought, you no longer bought the wrong car, you just have to make a phone call and pay for the upgrade. That and the free acceleration boost. Seems all positive to me.

 

[Rifleman]

If I knew this is how the 40 would have played out, I never would have cancelled my reservation. The 40 was soooooooooooo close to being a good fit for me, but with a 90-100 mile drive 1 day a week, I was not convinced that the 40 would have enough standard mode range after a few years of battery degradation to do the job in the winter months. The 40 was stretching the budget, but the 60 was a financial no-go for me. If I would have know that I could just pay an extra 10K in a few years when I needed the extra capacity, it would have made the financials work for me. Oh well, there is always Gen III for me.

 

[sp4rk]

If I knew this is how the 40 would have played out, I never would have cancelled my reservation. The 40 was soooooooooooo close to being a good fit for me, but with a 90-100 mile drive 1 day a week, I was not convinced that the 40 would have enough standard mode range after a few years of battery degradation to do the job in the winter months. The 40 was stretching the budget, but the 60 was a financial no-go for me. If I would have know that I could just pay an extra 10K in a few years when I needed the extra capacity, it would have made the financials work for me. Oh well, there is always Gen III for me.

Perhaps you can sneak in and still get one as their web site still offers it?

 

[Trnsl8r]

Ill be waiting for Tesla to drop that 2k refund back in my account! Looking at there sales numbers that shouldn't be a problem.

Refund for what? Supercharge capability is still an upgrade, presumably at $2k, the only difference is that it's now a software upgrade.

- - - Updated - - -

Well I'm confused. I'm one of the folks waiting to get my reservation in, sometime in the next 60 days :/ and from what I just heard and see in this thread, the 40kwh is no more? Correct? The 40kwh is the one I'm interested in. So, I have to cough up 10k more??

Looks like the website still lists it. Maybe time to finalize while it's still there?

 

[Rifleman]

Perhaps you can sneak in and still get one as their web site still offers it?

If I did not lease a Volt when I cancelled the Model S, I would give it a try. Like it or not, I am wed to a Volt for the next 30 months.

 

[UMD86]

According to @Justin_Hyde tweet, 40s have been canceled. The people who reserved 40kwh will get 60s that will be limited to 40kwh.

It only makes sense. With 80% charging capacity that would leave the 40kwh on the same level as the Nissan Leaf.

 

[ohaq]

this is a great deal for poor people like me. I was waiting for the 40kwh leasing program but now very tempted to buy the 40kwh as i can upgrade and no worries about the battery. I still haven't finalized my order i am going to wait till tomorrow to see tomorrows announcement. Who knows Gen III coming in December and Model X test drives start next week.

 

[DriverOne]

I'm so very pleased with this announcement!

I have a 60kWh but skipped the Supercharger to keep the price a little lower, and because there are no Superchargers near me. At the original time I'd configured the car, the SC hardware was included, but then Tesla made it a $2K upgrade and I didn't want to pay that.

But after a couple of months of ownership, the SC marketing has been getting to me and I am so glad the hardware is in my car! I can pay the $2K once SC stations are nearby.

I was initially mad as I heard about the cancellation of the 40kWh, but not the 'easter egg' SC part. I feared I'd have one of the few cars with no SC hardware, killing my resale value.

I'm very happy this morning! Thank you Tesla for seeing past my short-sightedness!

 

[ElSupreme]

I seriously want to put in another reservation for a "40kWh" pack car right now. Knowing it comes with 60kWh of actual battery capacity, means you don't have to worry about degradation at all.

Too bad I can't swallow another $60k car payment.

 

[StephRob]

FWIW, I ordered a 60kw with Supercharging.

I'll only be irritated if future 60kw buyers get free Supercharging, while previous buyers paid $2000.

I'll also be a bit peeved if someone hacks the 40kw software limit at some point

I am very angry. I ordered a 60kw with Supercharging ONLY because I was afraid what not having it would do to resale value. Now I learn that wasn't a valid concern at all. I want my $2k back and they can turn off my supercharger access until I sell the car!! I'm a very good customer (my husband and I both have S's) and I'm pissed.

 

[efusco]

The only thing missing from this announcement was that the performance h/w is actually installed on the std 85 and can be enabled in the future! There was something there for the 40s and the 60s, but nothing here for us poor 85s! ;-)

That would be awesome...but I think unlikely.