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Tesla is getting rid of the cheapest Model S

Tesla is getting rid of the cheapest Model S

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And the Model 3 will be the only Tesla with rear-wheel drive available going forward

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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Tesla will stop making the rear-wheel drive Model S 75 after this coming Sunday, September 24th, as was first reported earlier today by Electrek. The car, which starts at $69,500 and is currently the cheapest Model S available, will be on the company’s website through the weekend. It will also sell out the rest of the inventory around the country, and then it will be gone.

At that point, the dual-motor Model S 75D will become the cheapest Model S at $74,500. That also means every Model S and Model X will come with dual motors — one on each axle — and the only rear-wheel drive car Tesla will sell will be the entry-level versions of the Model 3.

Tesla often toys with the pricing of its cars, and has culled the cheapest tier of the Model S more than once before. But this time around, the move feels more philosophical. Tesla’s currently in the early stages of ramping up the production of the Model 3, and despite the heavily advertised $35,000 price tag, that car can easily wind up costing closer to around $40,000 or $50,000, depending on options. (Customers with preorders can’t even take delivery of the $35,000 base version yet.)

Sure, there are probably production line benefits to cutting the Model S 75. But considering how worried CEO Elon Musk has sounded recently about market confusion between the Model 3 and Model S, it’s no shock that there’s now a more noticeable distinction between Model 3 and the cheapest version of the company’s flagship sedan.