Over the weekend Tesla quietly removed the Standard Range (SR) Model Y from its website. The move was particularly strange considering the car was only one month old, and Tesla had just reduced the price 4 days prior.
According to information sent to Tesla employees in Canada and described to Drive Tesla, the car was being discontinued. Existing orders would be honoured and vehicles delivered, but no new orders were being taken.
If it wasn’t confusing enough, CEO Elon Musk now says the SR Model Y is still available to order ‘off-menu’. He also revealed the reason for the base Model Y’s removal, its low range.
It is still available off menu, but I don’t think the range, in many drive conditions, yet meets the Tesla standard of excellence
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2021
The news that it is still available to purchase must be very new. Drive Tesla has reached out several Tesla locations within Canada, and all of them said the SR Model Y is no longer being made, and can only be ordered from existing inventory.
The reason Musk provided for its removal fits with his previous statements about the minimum range a Tesla vehicle should offer. In July last year Musk said a car with less than 250 miles (402km) of range would be unacceptable. The SR Model Y has a range of 244 miles (393km).
No, as range would be unacceptably low (< 250 mile EPA)
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 13, 2020
