Tesla has long been the golden child of the electric vehicle world, but things have taken a turn for the worse in recent months. CEO Elon Musk is a lightning rod for controversy; the manufacturer has had plenty of high-profile issues, and the company’s overall product lineup is quite stale. To mix things up, Tesla is reworking the feature availability on its high-end Model S and Model X vehicles.
$10,000 Pricier Now
According to a report from Electrek, the prices of these closely related models have been increased by a whopping $10,000. That’s certainly not going to help the company move more of these slow-selling EVs, but Tesla also reworked some of the options and packages.
Offsetting that hefty increase is more added standard equipment, which is bundled in the new Luxe Package. In this, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) feature is included, and customers get no-cost Supercharging for life (there are a couple of caveats to this, so be aware. For instance, the vehicle cannot be used for commercial purposes). Beyond that, this free-of-charge options group includes a four-year premium service package that covers vehicle maintenance, and you get Premium Connectivity that lets you stream movies, listen to music, monitor traffic, and more without requiring Wi-Fi. This service is usually priced at $10 per month or, if you buy it for a full year, just $100.
Reading The Fine Print
Even though it isn’t cheap, this is still a nice upgrade for these two vehicles that, at this point, are well past aging gracefully. Before these changes, supervised Full Self-Driving cost $8,000 on its own; now, for an additional two grand, you’re getting a lot of extra goodies beyond that amenity.
The free charging is fantastic, too. Tesla has more than 70,000 Superchargers worldwide, likely the best EV charging network the world has ever known. As mentioned, though, if Tesla finds out you’re using your Model S or Model X for commercial work – like doing ridesharing or parcel delivery – they may cancel your access to free charging. If this happens, “The vehicle will then default to Pay Per Use [sic] Supercharging. Not transferable to subsequent vehicle owners or to another vehicle.” Also, even though the charging is free, idle and congestion fees may still apply, so be careful.
These Cars Are Still Not Cheap
When it comes to pricing, the Model S four-door should start around $96,630. As for the Model X SUV, this vehicle, with its fancy Falcon Wing doors, kicks off at roughly $101,630. Both of these prices include $1,390 destination fees and a $250 order fee. The added standard equipment is great news, but if you’re looking for an EV value, steer clear of a new Model S or Model X.
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