Tesla cuts price of Model S with 75 kWh battery

Tesla is discontinuing the 60-kilowatt-hour variant of its Model S, its entry level all-electric vehicle, while at the same time significantly reducing the price of the Model S version with a 75 kWh battery.

When Tesla announced that it would scrap its  60 kWh Model S in April, it was expected that there would be a large gap between the $68,000 starting price of the 60 kWh variant and the $74,500 starting price of the 75 kWh variant, Tesla's next-cheapest Model S version.

However, with the 60 kWh variant now officially discontinued, Tesla has slashed the price of the 75 kWh Model S by $5,000, which would now carry a starting price tag of $69,500.

According to commentators, though $69,500 was still $1,500 more than the price of Tesla's previous entry-level Model S, the vehicle's features made up for the difference.

The Model S with the 75 kWh battery, for instance, beat the 60 kWh on range handsomely. The 60 kWh base Model S came with a 210 miles of range, the 75 kWh version could drive up to 249 miles. Furthermore, Tesla now included an all-glass roof as a standard option; the glass-roof would have cost customers an additional $1,500 earlier.

Meanwhile, Tesla provided Elektrek, a website that tracked electric car development, a statement about the changes, "Periodically we have adjusted pricing and available options to best reflect the value of our products and our customers' preferences. Today's updates include slight price decreases to our 75, 75D and 90D models to account for the discontinuation of our 60 kWh models, and next week we will be implementing slight price increases to our higher end 100D and P100D models. We expect our total average selling price to remain almost exactly the same.

"Price increases for our 100D and P100D models will take effect on April 24, 2017, to best accommodate customers already in the order process, while price decreases for 75, 75D and 90D models will take effect today."