Tesla offers low-cost version of Model X SUV starting at $74,000

PanARMENIAN.Net - Tesla is now offering a lower-cost version of the Model X SUV that comes with less total range, much like it did with the Model S sedan back in June. The new Model X 60D will start at $74,000, but can run over $100,000 with various added options, The Verge says.

The 60D will be able to go 0–60 miles per hour in 6.0 seconds, and it has a top speed of 130 miles per hour, according to Tesla. Those are the same specs as the 75D version of the Model X, which was the previous entry-level option, so the one big difference is range. Tesla's model numbers refer to the capacity of the battery — the new 60D’s battery outputs at 60 kWh, for example — so wringing the same level of performance out of a weaker battery results in fewer miles between charges. Where the 75D gets you up to 237 miles on a full charge, the new 60D only gets up to 200 miles, Tesla says.

There’s a trick behind the 60D, though. Earlier this year Tesla shared that, as a cost-saving measure, it would no longer be making different versions of its battery packs for the lower-end versions of its cars. Instead, the company equips them all with the same battery pack and limits the output on some to create differentiation. (This is how Tesla rolled out the "new" versions of the Model S — the 60 and 60D — in June.) So while the battery of the new 60D outputs at 60 kWh, it’s actually using the same 75 kWh battery found on the 75D.

This also means that buyers of the 60D will be able to pay an additional fee down the road if they want to unlock that extra battery capacity. This idea of upgradability is something Tesla has pushed hard with all of its cars — you can add almost any of the company’s famous software features (like Autopilot, or Bioweapon Defense Mode) after the fact, though they do cost more this way.

Tesla will continue to sell the Model X 75D, which starts around $80,000, as well as the more powerful Model X 90D and P90D, which can run upwards of $149,000 with premium options.