Should Tesla discontinue the Model S?

[Counterpoint]

With the Model 3 serving as the mainstream sedan, Roadster as high-end sports car, and Model X (& Model Y) as family vehicles, the Model S seems a bit superfluous by 2020-2021. It won't be the biggest, the fastest, or have the longest range. It will also be very old by that point, from a car model perspective. So should Tesla stop making the Model S, refresh it, or keep it as is? In my opinion, Tesla should discontinue the Model S for a year or so, then redesign the 2nd gen Model S as a luxury sedan with the kind of interior trappings of the Lucid Air or similar and increase the range to 450 miles or so - not enough to compete with the Roadster, but solidly more than the Model 3.

 

[Pushmi-Pullyu]

...the Model S seems a bit superfluous by 2020-2021. It won't be the biggest, the fastest, or have the longest range. It will also be very old by that point, from a car model perspective.

When you say the Model S will be "very old" in 2020, I think you're outing yourself as really young! That's only eight years.

My first car was the 1975 Honda Civic, which was first sold in 1972. Honda is still selling a "Civic", so the brand name is now 25 years old! Of course, the current Civic is hardly the same tiny "pregnant rollerskate" that it was back when I bought one.

I think the long-term champion is the classic VW Beetle, which Volkswagen produced from 1938–2003; that's 56 years! Fans of the Beetle can point to minor changes in certain years, but the overall design for the car was never changed.

So when you say the Model S is "old", I say no, like the Classic Beetle, it's classic and timeless!

Personally I've never been a fan of auto makers making cosmetic, unnecessary changes from year to year just to make the current year's model look "new"... or actually, I think, more to make the last year's model look old. I view this type of planned obsolescence as a confidence game.

Should Tesla change the Model S? In my opinion, yes -- they should go back to the original design with a nosecone!

Now that's one sexy car.

 

[Domenick]

I think they should keep the Model S, though it should get a ground-up new version in a few years. Tesla has learned a lot about making cars, and a new S could greatly benefit.

It's a lot different car from the Model 3 -- bigger, more premium -- it fills a different niche, really, so as long as it's pulling in customers, it should be kept. Also, having a high end vehicle in the range, it attracts buyers tot he more affordable Model 3.