Tesla prices change again as Standard Range Model S axed

Tesla’s pricing changes have continued into April, with the Standard Range Tesla Model S now removed from UK sale.

The entry-level version was removed from the ordering section of the Californian firm’s US site, leaving just the Long Range and Performance variants left. It increases the base price of the Tesla  flagship from around £74,000 last month to £78,000, although some inventory Standard Range cars can still be ordered with delivery miles. 

It’s the latest tweak in the brand’s wide-reaching range restructure following a recent re-evaluation of its finances. Tesla prices increased by an average of 3% across the board on 18 March, allowing CEO Elon Musk to roll-back on his plans to close many of its dealer networks and facilitate all buying and servicing of Teslas through the website.

The brand’s entire dealer network is still under review, with around 20% of its stores in the US potentially facing closure depending on their performance. Tesla is unique among major carmakers in offering an online-only sales model worldwide, with all cars sold with a seven-day or 1000-mile return policy to make up for the limited test drive availability.

The base Long Range Model S offers 393 miles of range on the outgoing NEDC cycle, 89 more than the Standard Range claimed. Ditching the Ludicrous Performance tag, the Performance model sees that drop slightly to 381 miles, but the 0-62mph time increases from 4.1sec to three seconds dead. It’s priced from £85,500.