Tesla tweaks line-up, trims prices, on Models S, 3, and X

US car maker Tesla has done a nip and tuck on the range of electric vehicles the company will now be offering in Australia, and of their prices, as part of a global “streamlining” of its EV line-up.

In an announcement on Tuesday, Tesla said it was ditching the standard-range versions of its high-end Models S and X cars, and offering just the two (more expensive) trim variants: Long Range and Performance.

In the case of the Model 3, just three trims would now be offered: the Standard Plus; the Long Range; and the Performance.

The idea behind the adjustments is to simplify the ordering experience for customers, to standardise the vehicle line-up globally – presumably a good idea for ease of manufacture – and to allow some wriggle room on pricing.

“In order to make purchasing our vehicles even simpler, we are standardising our global vehicle lineup and streamlining the number of trim packages offered for Model S, Model X and Model 3,” a Tesla spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

“We are also adjusting our pricing in order to continue to improve affordability for customers. Like other car companies, we periodically adjust pricing and available options.”

Such pricing and model changes are becoming quite the regular thing from Tesla – although most are announced by CEO Elon Musk via Twitter, such as last month’s update that all vehicles would come with white as standard.

So what does this latest tweak mean?

For the super popular Model 3 – only just inching its way to Australia customers now – the streamlining of variants to just three types has reportedly slightly reduced prices in the US.

In Australia, according to the vehicle order page, prices don’t look much different (before on road costs): Standard Range – $66,000; Long Range AWD – $85,000; Performance model – $91,200.

According to the configurator, for Victorian customer the drive away cost of the standard Model 3 with no extra trimmings would be $70,634 – roughly the same as was quoted here at the end of May. For a Performance model, also with no extras, the drive away price is estimated at $102,067 – again roughly the same as was quoted in May.

As for the Models S and X, the axing of the Standard variants – which, in the case of the Model S, were only brought into the fold in March – follows two price cuts on those lines, in March and then May of this year.

Without the Standards, this leaves the Performance vehicles at the top of the range, which come with Ludicrous Mode, which offers the ability to get from 0-100km/h in 2.6 seconds or 2.9 seconds, respectively.

The now “entry level” Long Range versions of those vehicles, meanwhile, come with “industry-leading” battery range and an “all-new adaptive suspension system.”

According to the Australian configurator, a Long Range Model S will now set you back $123,500 (before on-road costs); while a Performance Model S is a cool $142,300.

This means that the new drive-away price (NSW) for the Long Range Model S – $A146,140 – comes in at around $10,000 more than the Standard model used to cost ($A135,390), before the March price cut.

And for a Model X, Australian buyers would pay $131,900 for the Long Range trim (drive away $157,605 in NSW), and $149,600 for the Performance model ($181,765 drive away in NSW).

Tesla also notes that all Performance vehicles, in all markets, will ship with an upgrades package installed, which includes performance wheels and brakes, a carbon fibre spoiler, 225km/h top speed and Track Mode.

Meanwhile, the company is still riding the high of beating its previous quarterly delivery record, by delivering 95,200 cars to the end of June.

As we reported here, the company produced just over 87,000 vehicles in the second quarter – 72,531 of which were Model 3s, helping it to turn around the loss of the first quarter when it delivered only around 63,000 vehicles.