Tesla has removed any mention of the Model 3 with a standard battery pack, Electrek first reported Monday, calling into question the long-awaited $35,000 base model of the sedan.
The cheapest Model 3 available to preorder on Tesla's website as of Tuesday was the mid-range-battery, rear-wheel-drive version for $42,900 before any savings. That price can be lowered to $32,850, the company says, factoring in tax savings worth more than $5,000 and six years' worth of "gasoline savings."
Recently, the standard version was listed as available in four to six months, Electrek said. That no longer appears to be the case.
A $35,000 base model, originally announced with the rollout of the Model 3 in 2016, is widely seen as Tesla's path to becoming a mass-market automaker. CEO Elon Musk once said the company could start delivering the cheapest version by the end of 2018.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 2, 2015
A Tesla representative declined to comment.
In a regulatory filing Tuesday, the company said it still intended "to offer in the future a variant of Model 3 at a starting price of $35,000." On an earnings conference call with Wall Street analysts in February, Musk said his "rough guess" was that the model could arrive by mid-2019.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2019
