A major difference today between S/X and 3/Y is the increased interior space and cargo capacity.
The S is a hatchback - which provides even more cargo capacity compared to the 3.
The X has FWD - the Y will (likely) have standard doors.
S/X have longer range.
The major advantage 3 has over S/X today is V3 supercharging - which should be coming for S/X in the next 12 months.
Musk's recent comments about the S/X refresh should be put into context. Right now, even if Tesla released refreshed S/X models, it probably wouldn't have much (if any) impact on S/X sales.
Tesla was always going to see a reduction in S/X sales when the wait time for Model 3 deliveries was reduced, since many of the S/X owners would likely have purchased a lower priced Model 3 instead of spending $$$ for what was likely their most expensive vehicle purchase ever.
And on top of that, the entire auto industry is going through a downturn right now, with all manufacturers seeing reduced sales - compared to them, Tesla is doing very well, with overall sales increasing - and while S/X sales are down, they are still doing very well compared to ICEs in their price range.
What Tesla should do is provide more differentiation between the higher priced S/X and lower priced 3/Y.
Making FUSC as a standard S/X feature is a good first step. Additional standard features that should be added:
- Include free maintenance for the first 4 years/50K miles
- Extend the warranty to 8 years/100K miles
- Include FSD in all S/X vehicles
- Provide loaners when service takes more than a day (3/Y owners should only get an Uber voucher)
- Create a separate S/X owner support line (so that S/X owners are not competing for help with the higher volume 3/Y owners)
- Make standard any current or future premium internet/app features
Tesla could quickly add these standard features to S/X.
With the significant price reductions of S/X over the past year, they could increase the price of S/X by $3-5K to go along with the bundling of these standard features.
S/X are important vehicles for Tesla. While they will never sell at the high volume Tesla will see for 3/Y/pickup - those vehicles compete directly with Tesla's luxury vehicle competitors - Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, …