Tesla Fires Back, Drops Model S To $69,420 In Response To Lucid Air

Musk says "the gauntlet has been thrown", firing a shot across Lucid's bow

“The gauntlet has been thrown down!”

That’s how Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded via Twitter Wednesday, after Lucid announced the base price for its electric Air sedan. It seems there’s a bit of a skirmish between the two companies, as Musk fires the next volley dropping the Model S’ price to $69,420 Wednesday. The tweet comes after Tesla already dropped the price on the Model S by $3,000 earlier this week.

The “why now” is clear, then. As for the “why that price”, well…I don’t think we really need to spell that one out here, do we? Nonetheless, the company’s flagship sedan is now a significantly better deal, with recent price drops totaling more than $10,000, as the Model S was a whopping $79,990 not that long ago.

More competition driving prices down

With this move, Musk throw the ball back into Lucid’s court, and we’ll have to see if the startup automaker responds in kind, further dropping the Air’s starting price. Clearly, Musk and to some extent Tesla view the impending electric sedan as a contender. It’s not just Lucid, though, as Tesla is facing threats from multiple fronts. Rivian will formally launch its EV onslaught in 2021 (barring any further delays), and several “legacy” automakers are finally entering the EV ring in the United States. The Volkswagen ID.4, GMC Hummer, Mercedes-Benz EQS, Audi e-tron GT, BMW i4 and iNext crossover, Bollinger B1 and B2 and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E and electric F-150 are just a few examples of electric models coming in the next 12 to 18 months.

Tesla’s website properly reflected the price change Wednesday night, as Elon promised. The Tesla Model S Long Range now indeed costs $69,420 before options and EV tax incentives. Bear in mind these price cuts only apply to the Long Range. The Performance still costs $91,990, while the upcoming Plaid tops out the Model S range with a $139,990 asking price.

Now, you can officially say the Plaid is double the price of the standard Long Range, but will it be double the car? We’ll have to wait and see. Currently, even that ludicrous, mind-bending combination of speed and range is $30,000 cheaper than the most expensive Lucid Air.