Demand Secured: Tesla Slashes Model S Prices By $5,000

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Demand Secured: Tesla Slashes Model S Prices By $5,000

Tyler Durden

Tue, 06/16/2020 – 10:25

We’re starting to wonder if Tesla isn’t having a bit of a “demand secured” issue with its legacy Model S. 

The company confirmed yesterday that it has slashed the price of its Model S Long Range by $5,000 – while at the same time announcing that it was the first vehicle to boast an EPA rated range of over 400 miles.

However, according to CNBC, the claim about the 400 mile range has not yet been confirmed by the government and is not listed on FuelEconomy.gov, a Department of Energy website.

To us, it seems like exactly the kind of claim, coupled with a price reduction, that one would want to put into place if there was a rush to sell vehicles. Tesla is now claiming in a new blog post that it was able to achieve the range improvements by using lighter materials in its battery pack and drive units, as well as new features that maximize regenerative braking. 

“This significant achievement reflects Tesla’s obsession with efficiency and energy frugality, and is realized through several changes, both iterative and transformational, in core hardware and system architecture development by the Tesla engineering, design and production teams,” the blog post reads, sounding like a cheap sci-fi novel. 

Musk had already said during the company’s April conference call that the EPA had “mishandled” prior assessments of Tesla’s range, blaming the EPA for not getting the 400 mile rating sooner and throwing its testers under the bus:

The real Model S range is 400 miles, but when we did the last EPA test, unfortunately, a TA left the car door open and the keys in the car. So the car — and they did this overnight. And so, the car actually went into a waiting for driver mode and lost 2% of its range. And as a result, it had a 391 test. As soon as the EPA reopens for testing, we will redo the test, and we’re actually confident that we will achieve a 400-mile or greater range with the Model S. But to be clear, the Model S, for the past two months — the true range of the Model S for the past two months has been 400 miles.”

The EPA shortly fired back, via an article through The Verge, disputing Musk’s claims:

“We can confirm that EPA tested the vehicle properly, the door was closed, and we are happy to discuss any technical issues with Tesla, as we do routinely with all automakers,” a spokesperson told the publication in May.

Meanwhile, the price cut telegraphs that either Tesla is losing demand interest in the Model S or that the company’s new Models are starting to cannibalize Model S sales. Tesla’s next delivery numbers are due to the public before the July 4 holiday in the U.S. and, as usual, Tesla’s “sale” and “promotion” news come (as they usually do) at the end of a quarter.

Meanwhile, in parking lots around the country…

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