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Tesla implements fresh round of price reductions for its Model S3XY lineup

Credit: Tesla

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Tesla has rolled out a new round of price reductions across its S3XY lineup. The move echoes a similar strategy adopted by the company in the first quarter, which resulted in a wave of orders for its vehicle offerings across the globe. 

As per Tesla’s online configurator in the United States, the Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y received their own respective price cuts. And while the reductions in some vehicles like the Model 3 are pretty minor, other cars like the Model S and Model X saw more notable price adjustments. 

Tesla’s Model S Dual Motor AWD, for example, saw a significant price drop from $89,990 to $84,990, a reduction of $5,000. The Model S Plaid, Tesla’s top-of-the-line performance sedan, also received a price reduction of $5,000, bringing its cost down from $109,990 to $104,990. At their current prices, the Model S has the potential to be the best bang-for-the-buck premium electric sedan, considering its performance and tech. 

In the Model 3 lineup, the RWD variant saw a price adjustment from $42,990 to $41,990, a decrease of $1,000. The Model 3 Performance, known for being a track-capable sedan with its dedicated Track Mode, saw a price drop from $53,990 to $52,990. The price adjustments would likely broaden the appeal of the Model 3 to potential buyers and incentivize consumers to purchase the car ahead of Project Highland’s rollout. 

Tesla’s Model X Dual Motor AWD, the company’s flagship SUV, had its price reduced from $99,990 to $94,990, a drop of $5,000. The Model X Plaid, the performance-oriented version of the vehicle, saw its cost reduced from $109,990 to $104,990. This price reduction may attract more buyers interested in an electric SUV that offers both exceptional performance and bleeding-edge tech.

The Model Y lineup saw its price get reduced by $2,000, with the apparent 4680 AWD variant now costing $49,990 from $51,990. The Model Y Long Range saw its price decrease from $54,990 to $52,990, and the Model Y Performance saw its price reduced from $58,990 to $56,990. These price reductions could make the Model Y even more appealing to potential buyers seeking an electric crossover with compelling features. 

During the Q1 and FY 2022 Earnings Call, CEO Elon Musk and other Tesla executives noted that the aggressive price cuts in the first quarter resulted in increased demand for the company’s vehicle lineup. This new round of price reductions may have a relatively similar effect on demand this second quarter. 

Tesla remains a dominant force in the EV sector. And as the company continues to refine its production processes and technology, the EV maker could implement further price reductions to strengthen its competitive advantage in the automotive sector. Overall, it would not be surprising if Tesla implements more price adjustments to its vehicles in the coming months, which could very well help the company reach its ambitious delivery goals this 2023. 

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Semi enters new Pilot Program with interesting challenge

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Credit: PTI

The Tesla Semi is entering a new Pilot Program with Paper Transport, LLC (PTI), a Wisconsin-based transportation provider. The company will test the Semi’s Long Range configuration through “dedicated operations within the Chicago market.”

Chicago presents an interesting challenge for the Semi, as it will be a colder-weather climate that will test the Semi’s ability to operate in lower temperatures and in potentially large accumulations of snow. This is something Tesla has been testing with the Semi in Alaska and even in Northern California during the colder months, but Chicago will present a truly tough midwestern winter.

Tesla Semi spotted on journey home after winter performance testing

PTI says it is using the Semi to evaluate its strategy of reducing transportation emissions while maintaining performance, reliability, and cost efficiency. These are major arguments for the Semi being introduced into new fleets.

CEO of PTI Tyler Ellison said:

“PTI has been a leader in sustainable transportation solutions for over 15 years. We take a consultative approach to helping customers identify and implement the right transportation solution for their network. Our partnership with Tesla expands our portfolio alongside renewable natural gas and intermodal, giving customers more ways to reduce Scope 3 emissions without compromising service or economics.”

PTI is far from the first company to adopt the Semi within a fleet, as Tesla entered strategic agreements with PepsiCo. and its subsidiary Frito-Lay for a Pilot Program that extended throughout the California region.

Tesla has let companies like those utilize the Semi to determine whether it would be suitable for their operations. Additionally, Tesla gets valuable information regarding the Semi’s performance, knowing what to improve and what is ideal for companies that will utilize the all-electric truck for regional and nationwide logistics.

PTI plans to utilize the Long Range configuration, which is priced at $290,000 and features a range of approximately 500 miles, a three-motor powertrain, up to 800 kW of drive power, and consumption of just 1.7 kWh per mile.

Tesla Semi pricing revealed after company uncovers trim levels

VP of Maintenance at PTI, Bryan Ellen, added:

“We are excited to partner with Tesla, leveraging their ever-evolving technology. We are bullish in our estimation of the parallels available between our dedicated model and the efficiency of their fully electric Class 8 tractor. We anticipate a growing synergy between our businesses as we work to facilitate this sustainable solution for our customers.”

PTI has logged more than 87 million miles using sources like compressed and renewable gas, but now is looking to take it a step further with fully electric operations.

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Tesla is building a wheelchair-accessible Robotaxi

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A beautiful spring landscape at SoFi Stadium with lush green palm trees and plants with powerful clouds at sunset in Inglewood California USA. (Credit: Tesla)

Tesla revealed on Monday that it is building a new autonomous vehicle at Gigafactory Texas, its plant just outside of the City of Austin. This particular vehicle will be geared toward those who are in need of a wheelchair-accessible car that would require no human driver for operation.

According to a new report from Wired, Tesla’s Senior Policy Advisor, India Herdman, told members of the Washington D.C. City Council on Monday:

“We are in development for a purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle. We know that paratransit can be very difficult, and people who are confined to wheelchairs permanently should still be able to move around freely, so that is an active product being built by Tesla in Texas.”

This builds upon what CEO Elon Musk said last year on X, which confirmed the company was working on accessible rides within its Robotaxi platform, which currently is confined to the Model Y.

Tesla is also developing the Cybercab, which started employee rides last week. However, this vehicle is not necessarily geared toward wheelchair accessibility.

That leaves a major gap in the autonomous ride-sharing program that Tesla is attempting to build; the company has been pretty clear that it does not want to complicate its manufacturing lines by bringing in a wide array of body styles.

However, it seems necessary to have something larger that could help transport people to appointments when they cannot drive. For wheelchair accessibility, the Robovan, which was unveiled at the “We, Robot” event in October 2024, seems to be the most ideal solution:

Tesla unveils the Robovan at ‘We, Robot’ event

Herdman did not indicate whether she was referring to the Robovan or if Tesla is building yet another body style that is geared toward full autonomy but also caters to the handicapped.

Tesla might need to develop something specifically for the handicapped in order to align with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prevents discrimination against people with disabilities in transportation services. Uber was hit with a lawsuit late last year for “refusing to reasonably modify its policies, practices, or procedures where necessary to avoid discriminating against riders with disabilities.”

Tesla would obviously like to avoid this.

It will be interesting to see what Tesla will do with this project, and whether it will introduce something new to the market or just continue with the Robovan.

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Tesla weirdly confirms Cybercab employee rides, a huge milestone

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla weirdly confirmed that its steering wheel-less and pedal-less Cybercab vehicle is now in the process of giving employees rides, a huge milestone for the vehicle program.

But the entire thing was super strange. On Friday, Tesla released a video stating that there was “Cool news from Giga Texas” and that employees were now taking rides in Cybercabs that have no manual controls. The units seen on public roads are engineering vehicles that have manual controls inside, a necessity as Tesla moved through the testing phase.

However, Tesla removed the video and reposted it shortly after with a more vague title. It seems like the employee rides are still going, but the video was adjusted slightly. The initial upload showed employees doing things like watching movies and adjusting the climate, but these snippets were removed in the second upload.

Both images below were uploaded with the first video, but were removed after Tesla re-uploaded the announcement. These are not available in the second upload

tesla cybercab with no manual controls showing a movie with two employees inside

Credit: Tesla

tesla cybercab with no manual controls showing a movie with two employees inside

Credit: Tesla

Nevertheless, the announcement from Tesla is that the Cybercab is operating with employees inside who can control the vehicle’s audio, video, climate, and destination settings through their smartphone app.

Tesla has already been testing Cybercab engineering units, but last month, it was able to self-certify for SAE Level 4, which would enable unsupervised self-driving in Texas. The company is moving toward that, and the plans have always been to launch Cybercab rides this year.

The Cybercab is potentially looked at as the next generation of Tesla’s mobility leg. For the past 15 years, the company has been known as somewhat of an automaker, among many other things. However, these passenger vehicles that Tesla has manufactured are now moving into a new realm, as they will eventually drive themselves with no supervision thanks to the Full Self-Driving suite.

Tesla flexes how it will help the blind with Cybercab

The Cybercab is just the next step of that: a true vehicle developed for the sole purpose of ride-hailing. It has no human controls, it has only two seats, and it will get passengers from Point A to Point B with no awkward driver, no need for manual inputs, and with no stress.

Tesla is moving forward with other developments related to the Cybercab project as well. However, the big announcement will come when Tesla finally announces that it is launching Cybercab rides to the general public, something that it plans to launch either late this year or early 2027.

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