Tesla is discontinuing 75 kWh battery pack for Model S and Model X

Tesla is discontinuing its 75 kWh battery pack for Model S and Model X starting next week, which will significantly increase the base price of the automaker’s two flagship vehicles.

Back in 2016, Tesla introduced the 75 kWh battery pack for Model S and Model X.

As the automaker discontinued its software-locked battery pack options, the 75 kWh pack became the base version of the two vehicles.

Now more than two years later, CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla is discontinuing the 75 kWh battery pack without announcing any replacement at the moment.

He wrote on Twitter that customers have until Sunday night to order the vehicle:

Starting on Monday, Tesla will no longer be taking orders for the 75 kWh version of the Model S & X. If you’d like that version, please order by Sunday night at https://t.co/46TXqRJ3C1

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2019

Unless other things change on Monday, it would result in a significant increase in the price of both the Model S and Model X.

In the US, the 100 kWh battery pack starts at $94,000 instead of $76,000 for the 75 kWh version in the Model S and $97,000 instead of $82,000 for the Model X.

Tesla didn’t want to comment on the change beyond saying that they occasionally make changes to their vehicle lineup.

Furthermore, Musk commented that they want to move away from marketing battery packs based on kWh capacity like they did with the Model 3, which is advertised with a “Long Range” battery pack and a “Mid Range” battery pack.

Last week, the automaker said that it is reducing the price of all its vehicles in the US to compensate for the tax credit phase-out.

Electrek’s Take

I think it could mean a new battery pack soon.

In my ‘What to expect from Tesla in 2019‘, I speculated that along with the Supercharger V3 coming in the next few months, Tesla could release a battery pack upgrade to Model S and Model X.

Discontinuing the 75 kWh battery pack could be a first step toward changing the whole battery pack architecture for the Model S and Model X – most likely based on the new 2170 cells instead of the 18650 Panasonic cells that Tesla is using for those vehicles at the moment.

It could be a situation where Tesla is going to only produce the 100 kWh battery pack when upgrading the 75 kWh production line to the new battery cells.

That’s one thing, but I also think that Tesla needs to come up with a new battery pack if the 75 kWh is going away.

Will the 100 kWh become the base one and Tesla will come up with something even bigger? Honestly, I don’t know.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.