Tesla has been having a very chaotic March. There have been price increases, price decreases, people being fired, people not being fired, and a new Model Y reveal. Just when we thought Tesla has finished making adjustments, it hits us with perhaps one last change, the discontinuation of the mid-range Model 3. Tesla had brought up the mid-range Model 3 back in October, affectionately known as the Lemur. The mid-range Model 3 was meant as some sort of compensation for those that were waiting for the standard-range Model 3. As Tesla could not bring the new $35.000 standard-range Model 3 to market before their tax credit was halved to $3,750, they brought the mid-range Model 3 who would have a price under $35,000 “after savings”.
The mid-range had the same battery pack as the long-range Model 3 did, albeit with fewer battery cells within it, giving it a range of 260 miles. This gives a bit more credence to the idea that the mid-range was put together at the last minute as a mad dash to get as many buyers as possible before the tax credit ran out.
However, now with the release of the standard-range Model 3, there does not make much sense to still keep the mid-range Model 3 around.
The Model 3 lineup was starting to get kind of cramped. With the ‘Standard Range Plus’ Model 3 getting an increase in range from 220 mile to 240 miles, it put it only 20 miles behind that of the mid-range Model 3. On top of that, it was priced around the same price as the current long-range RWD model which has a whopping 325 mile range.
So it makes perfect business sense for Tesla to get rid of the mid-range Model 3. It can be inferred that any plans that Musk and Tesla had to bring the mid-range Model to Europe and Asia is effectively scrapped.
Rest in peace Lemur, we hard knew ye.
Check out the updated configurator.
What do you guys think of the move? Let us know down in the comments below.
