Tesla Says It’s Killing The Most Important EV Of All Time In Order To Build Robots

Tesla, the most important EV carmaker of all time, announced last night plans to finally kill off the most important EV of all time, the Tesla Model S.

It and the Model X SUV are being put out to pasture after over a decade of production to make room at Tesla’s Fremont, California, factory for production of the company’s Optimus humanoid robot.

If you’re in the market for a Model S or Model X, and for some reason haven’t bought one yet, now’s the time. Because it sounds like they’re not going to get replaced.

Why Are They Dying Now?

On last night’s earnings call, CEO Elon Musk revealed plans to axe the brand’s two largest vehicles so it could focus on other projects. From CNBC:

“It’s time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end with an honorable discharge,” Musk said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “If you’re interested in buying a Model S and X, now would be the time to order it.”

The cars, which are both built in Fremont, will make way for an entirely new assembly line for Tesla’s Optimus robots, a product first revealed in 2021 that Tesla believes will eventually make up 80% of the company’s value in the near future.

The Importance Of The Model S Cannot Be Overstated

The Model S was first introduced in 2012 as Tesla’s second model, following the first-generation Roadster. With sleek, handsome looks and an EPA-rated range of 265 miles in P85 form (unheard of for a mass production EV in this segment at the time), it quickly rocketed in popularity among those who wanted to be eco-conscious without the stigma that comes along with being a Prius driver.

Plus, a huge central screen for the infotainment system and a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds helped it appeal to the tech- and performance-obsessed, too. The Model S was, famously, the first vehicle—EV or otherwise—to get a perfect score on a Consumer Reports road test. Even today, an updated version of that same car still makes headlines for its acceleration numbers.

More importantly, the Model S’s broad appeal, helped drastically by Tesla’s Supercharger network, which launched that same year, brought electric vehicles into the mainstream. For the first time, people could legitimately consider purchasing an electric car and using it as their only vehicle, rather than just as a quirky toy for short weekend jaunts. The entire industry took notice, forcing other manufacturers to kick their electric vehicle programs into high gear just to keep up. The entire EV landscape you see now is a result of the Model S’s success.

Everything Has An End Point

As important as the Model S and its sister car, the Model X, are to the EV industry, they’re also both really old. In fact, they’re by far the oldest electric passenger cars on sale in America, having been for sale for 14 and 13 years now, respectively.

Both cars have undergone substantial updates to their drivetrains and batteries over the years, significantly improving their performance and range. Despite their age, both cars are still competitive in terms of range, delivering up to 410 and 352 miles of range, depending on whether you go for the sedan or SUV.

But big acceleration numbers and solid range can only do so much. The Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck combined make up roughly 3% of the company’s global sales, dwarfed by the newer, cheaper, and far more popular Model 3 and Model Y.

So it was only a matter of time until the cars were killed off, although it wasn’t obvious that at least the Model S might not be replaced. If you want a big, expensive electric Tesla, there’s always the Cybertruck, and given low demand for that product, you probably won’t have to wait to get one delivered.

Top graphic image: Tesla, ULine, Jason Torchinsky