Several people have posted on the TMC forum that a price increase is coming for the Tesla Model S in April. TMC member BEEZR began a new thread this way: “I was in our local showroom today and one of the salespeople asked if I had heard about the upcoming price increase on Model S… She said they’ve been told it’s coming in April, though she did not know exactly when. She said there has already been a price increase in Europe and Asia… She mentioned they’re trying to sell through the cars by the end of the quarter.”
It is an open secret that Tesla is constantly improving its cars. One of the significant differences between Tesla and other car companies is that it has no annual model year changes. Instead of saving up a host of upgrades to introduce once a year, it makes as many as 20 production changes a week to its cars. As Elon Musk once said, the best time to buy a Tesla is now, because the cars coming off the assembly line today are the best Teslas ever built.
BEEZR’s thread has sparked a number of comments and much speculation. Will the price increase herald the arrival of new features? Perhaps the 100 kWh battery or the addition of a suite of second generation sensors to promote expanded autonomous driving capability will be included? Tesla has not made any official announcements as of yet.
Still, rumors of the larger battery and new Model S sensors being spotted in the wild have further sparked rumors that a Model S refresh is imminent. When the current 90 kWh battery was introduced recently, it came at a $3,000 premium over the existing 85 kWh battery. Once the smaller battery was discontinued, that difference amounted to a price increase for top level Model S cars.
Some TMC members are struggling with whether to order now at current prices or wait till April to order a new Model S. Usually when a significant upgrade takes place, Tesla offers customers with a pending order the option to add the new bits for a small fee. Either way, the new owner is getting a great car. Decisions, decisions.
Photo credit: Tesla Motors
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