Tesla Re-Introduces Entry-Level Version of Model S Sedan

By Chris Chase

Jun 10, 2016

Car News

Summary

Lower-priced model added as stop-gap while we wait for the Model 3 to arrive.

Electric vehicle builder Tesla has brought back a less-expensive version of its Model S, apparently to boost slowing sales and attract buyers impatient for the brand's upcoming compact Model 3.

Dubbed the 60, it marks the return of a model designation dating back to the car's introduction as a 2013 model, that number referring to the kWh rating of its battery pack.

Less expensive is a relative term here, given the car's $86,000 cash purchase price in Canada; for that amount, you're getting a car with an estimated 338-km driving range; upgrading to the 70 kWh battery of the previous entry-level model -- for $11,300 -- bumps range to about 400 km.

Topping the range are the all-wheel drive 90D and P90D variants, with their 90 kWh batteries; the P90D is best known for its available "ludicrous" mode that allows a zero-to-100 km/h acceleration sprint time of just three seconds. The P90D carries a cash price of $143,200.

Meet the Author

As a child, Chris spent most of his time playing with toy cars in his parents’ basement or making car sounds while riding his bicycle. Now he's an award-winning Algonquin College Journalism grad who has been playing with real cars that make their own noises since the early 2000s.