As the world continues to wait for Tesla to produce an affordable Model 3, it’s worth remembering that value was part of Tesla’s pitch a decade ago. When the company debuted the highly-anticipated Model S in 2009, they issued a press release touting a $49,900 electric car. Chief Executive Elon Musk offered a quote later... READ FULL ARTICLE
"swapped for a Model 3 that starts at $49,000 (interestingly the same price as the Model S 40 kWh)" This is not correct. The 40 kWh Model S sold for about $57,400. The below $50k price was after the US federal income tax credit. $49k for today's LR 3 is the price before the tax credit. GSP
Collectible because it was decontented and there weren’t that many. The other S’s in the same year aren’t collectibles. No. I don’t see any historical case in car history where a decontented model became a collectible. “Hey look what I got in my garage. An old Tesla S with the smallest battery available!”
The orginal Model S 40 kWh came with a locked 60 kWh battery. Tesla unlocks the 60 kWh capacity when a Model S 40 kWh is traded in resulting in even fewer 40 kWh models in the wild
Right. We should also remember that the Model 3 LR/PUP (at about $43k after the $7500 federal tax credit) is in 2018 money, has over double the range, is much quicker, and enjoys a massive Supercharger network at low cost. The value proposition for a Tesla car has improved dramatically.
Is that a concept / aftermarket nose cone and badge on the picture or did MS40 actually came looking like that? I want that nose cone...
Don’t forget inflation and buying power making the Model 3 LR even more stupid cheap compared to the S40.
Sometimes people point to the cancellation of the S40 and suggest Tesla will do the same with the SR. But it is night and day in terms of the value proposition of the base car and the potential market.