Model Y

Make
Tesla
Segment
SUV

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has just announced via twitter that the electric giant, which recently overtook Toyota as the world's most valuable car manufacturer, will be dropping its cheapest Model Y offering. As to the reason why this model would be cut, Musk simply stated, "as [the] range would be unacceptably low (<250 mile EPA)". He continued to say that the company has reduced pricing on the Model Y Long Range dual motor "we will offer a LR single motor Y in a few months, which improves affordability, while still keeping the product excellent."

The Model Y has been on sale for only four months, but Tesla has dropped its asking price by a substantial margin already. Now priced at $51,190 including the $1,200 destination fee, the car used to cost at least $54,190.

Tesla has been continually working on improving the range and charging times of its electric vehicles and has made great strides in recent years and months, with the Tesla Model S Long Range Plus becoming the first EV to offer a driving range of over 400 miles. Recent updates have increased the Supercharging rate of the Model S and Model X from 200 kW to 225 kW, while the Model 3 and Model Y support 250 kW outputs when connected to Tesla's V3 Supercharging network.

Tesla's website now shows that the Model S and Model X will match the Model Y with 250 kW Supercharging support. That translates into a charge rate of 1,000 mph.

According to Musk, Tesla will offer the Model Y Long Range with a single motor instead of the original two in a few months time. This comes as Tesla tests the range of the Model Y Long Range, which Musk believes will have a range of over 300 miles. "Doing range testing now. Number will be significantly higher than 300. Extremely good for any EV, especially an SUV." he said on Twitter.

As the standard Range Model Y gets dropped, Tesla busies itself with expanding its Supercharger stations and destination charger network to match vehicle sales and an expanded national footprint. In answer to a question posted by a twitter user regarding the growth of these charging points, Musk responded "Superchargers and public high power wall connectors will keep growing exponentially every year."