Yesterday, during Tesla’s financial reporting, Elon Musk announced that the Model S and Model X will go out of production in Q2 this year, supposedly because they need the capacity in the Fremont factory to make room for Optimus robots. Whether that specific explanation is true or not… I’m honestly not sure. But the announcement still made me stop and think about what the Model S and Model X have represented in Tesla’s lineup — and what we’re actually left with if those two disappear.
The Model S was my first EV, and we bought a Model X fairly shortly after — in 2015 and 2017, respectively. So when I hear “end of production,” my brain went into nostalgia mode. But let’s be real: Tesla is practically a Model Y company at this point and has been so for a while. And when you remove S and X from the picture, what’s left for people who want something more? A Model 3 and a Model Y… and then the Cybertruck lurking in the background — the massive failure which, for me as a European, is more fantasy than reality since it’s not really an option here.
This whole thing takes me back to my Model S, because that is still, honestly, my favorite car. We still own the Model X, and it’s a great car — but if it was just down to what I personally enjoy most as a car, the Model S is still number one. Mostly because it was just so good at what it did. I like the Model X, but I don’t really need to sit higher. I don’t need the SUV form factor for myself. We need it for practicality, for the kids, but I still miss the Model S. I like sitting lower, I like the feel of it, and I liked that it was just… a simple car. A very good car, without needing to be a whole “thing.”
It also had quirks. Our early Model S had no pockets in the doors for some reason. And the center console situation was… let’s call it “minimalist.” The center console that the Model 3 has now is so much better than what we have in our current Model X, and what we had in the old Model S was basically just a big empty space in the middle. Which, to be fair, was pretty great for throwing a bag there, or takeout, or whatever — it was genuinely useful — but I also like the feeling of the cabin “wrapping around you,” and the Model S definitely didn’t do that in the same way. Still, it worked. And more importantly: it drove so well.
One thing I loved about the Model S is that it didn’t have the extra aerodynamic “cost” you get with the bigger Model X (and I assume the Model Y to some degree as well). The Model S just felt efficient and planted. It had a great frunk, and we used it all the time. And the winter driving… this is a big one for me living here. The Model S AWD was front-dominant — meaning it would primarily use the front wheels, and then bring in the rear when you really needed extra power. In winter conditions, that was fantastic. In comparison, the Model 3 and Model Y setups I’ve driven are primarily rear-driven a lot of the time, and on icy roads that means the rear can let go first. You get that little moment of back-end slip before the car sorts itself out. It’s not dangerous, it’s just… you feel it. With the Model S (and the Model X too for that matter), it was the opposite: it would just drive like a tank. You never really felt it slip, because it was already pulling from the front.
If I could pick any car today, just for me, I’d probably still pick a Model S. And that’s even knowing it’s a bigger car than a Model 3; I actually don’t mind that it’s a little larger. When I bought the Model S, I’d been dreaming about it since I first saw it, and I even wrote an article about it back in 2012 or so. It was my dream car when I bought it, and it still kind of is, to be honest.
But here’s the problem: I wouldn’t buy a new one today. We bought a 70D as an inventory model at the end of a quarter and got a really solid deal. If I were to buy a Model S today, I’d pay something like twice the price — and that’s a really tough pill to swallow. Honestly, it would probably mean it wouldn’t even be in the running. Because with our 70D we got everything we needed: the range was more than enough, we had free Supercharging, upgraded seats, the premium package — it had all the stuff that mattered. The only thing it didn’t have was a bigger battery, and we didn’t need that anyway. Even going from the Model S to the Model X, the “more range” wasn’t really the point; in practical terms it was comparatively the same for us.
This news made me miss that old car. I think about it more often than I should. One “upgrade” most people loved back then was the glass roof, and our car didn’t have it — but I honestly didn’t miss it a single day. It looks awesome, especially for passengers in the back, but in a cold climate it was also kind of nice not having that cold radiation from above or feeling a draft. Then we got the Model X, and suddenly you’ve got that massive windshield that makes you feel like you’re in a spaceship — completely different experience. And that’s actually something I hoped Tesla would bring into the Model 3 or Y era too: I was hoping for more of that expansive view, and I was also hoping the Model 3 would get a liftgate. It didn’t — and that’s still my biggest gripe with the Model 3.
That said, every design has tradeoffs. The Model 3 trunk being a sedan trunk can make for an advantage in winter: if I preheat the car, I can put the kids in, open the trunk, load gear, and the cabin stays warm. I mean, if you remember to take off the snow so it doesn’t slide into your trunk. On the Model X, if you preheat it and then open those falcon wing doors, you can basically say bye-bye to the heat. The interio still hold some warmth, sure, but the cabin cools down so fast. And that’s where I circle back to the Model S being kind of the “best of both worlds” in a lot of ways: you get the liftgate (which I wish the Model 3 had), without the giant “open the whole side of the car” heat loss that the Model X can have.
And speaking of the Model X: I know people were all over the doors and all the issues Tesla was having, but honestly, I’ve never talked to anyone who’s had real problems with them. Sure, if something goes wrong, like you hit something, it’ll probably be expensive — but you can say the same about air suspension, and that’s the one thing that actually makes me nervous long-term. Our Model S didn’t have air suspension, and I didn’t miss it at all. With the Model X, I know it’ll fail someday, and I’m not looking forward to that. I do use the ability to raise and lower the car — I actually use it lots over the years — but if I didn’t have it, I’d probably still be fine. The car has enough clearance that it works in most cases anyway.
There are other “old Tesla” things I would miss too if I got the current Model. The Model S and Model X had a proper instrument cluster, and even though I often blacked it out so the center display was the focus, it was still great to have navigation and a bunch of information right there in front of you when you wanted it. And I really enjoyed having actual stalks for stalk things. Adjusting Autopilot speed with a stalk just felt right. On newer cars, it’s on a scroll wheel — which is fine, but it’s one less thing you can do directly, and I personally use that scroll wheel for temperature in our Model X. Yes, you can still do everything, but it adds steps. I could live without a gear stalk if I had to, but I really like having a signal stalk. Same with the wipers — I could adapt — but that older setup just felt kind of… right to me.
And that brings me to the bigger “end of an era” feeling. Tesla hasn’t really been doing the Model S and X justice for a long time — at least not from where I’m sitting. After the Model 3 came along, it became very clear that the Model 3 was the focus. You’d expect flagship features to arrive on the S/X first and trickle down, but it felt like the opposite: things would come to the Model 3 first, and then slowly arrive on the S/X later — or not at all. Meanwhile you see things like steer-by-wire and new electrical architecture showing up elsewhere, and you can’t help thinking how some of that would have made a lot of sense on the Model S, especially when they were trying to push the yoke.
At the same time, living in Norway, I still see lots of Teslas. I’m literally driving past a Model S as I’m recording this voice memo, and it still looks so good. I’ll be sad to see it go. I’m really glad I had my time with it. That car was so good to us — even a 70D back in 2015, when everyone was talking about range anxiety, it just wasn’t an issue. It did everything we wanted it to do. It was a true champion.
I’m sad to see it go, but I also know I wouldn’t have bought a new one at today’s prices, and I certainly don’t need that much range. If Tesla ever “brought it back” in a way that would tempt me, it would have to be something like a standard range dual-motor car — a 70/75D-ish idea — with a premium interior, still with AWD, and at roughly half the cost. And I know that’s not going to happen. So it looks like other companies might pick up the slack, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens there.
And as far as the Model X goes… I don’t think there will ever be a car quite like it. We bought it because of the falcon wing doors, because we had kids, and it absolutely has made sense. We also have a Model 3, and while I got used to folding the kid in order to get them into car seats — with the Model X it’s just so easy. The kids can also open the doors without you worrying about them slamming into anything. During some periods I enable the self presenting doors and the car basically welcomes you when you walk up to it. It doesn’t work 100% of the time — sometimes you’re trying to open the door a little more and you end up fighting the electric lock — but overall it’s been worth it. As the kids get older, I’ll probably care less about having those doors, because the car gets colder and it takes longer for people to get in and out. It’s not perfect. But it’s still special.
So yeah: I’ll cling on to our Model X until the wheels fall off. I’ll maintain it properly until then. But it’s a bit sad to see those cars head towards the end. For me, it feels like the end of a chapter in Tesla’s history — and it’s happening at the same time as the company has gone out of favor with a lot of people, not without reason either. There’s been a massive drop in popularity, and now the cars that brought that popularity to begin with are dying out too. It’s a sad realization. But then again, it’s also just… the course of things.
Quick PS: In 2017, when we got the Model X, we drove a caravan from Norway to Austria. That was considered pretty bold back then. Even in Norway, where EV adoption was relatively high, the idea that you could tow properly with an electric car still felt like a stretch to a lot of people. The Model X was one of the first cars that really made towing feel doable. We were actually loaned a caravan by Kabe so we could show what was possible. I documented the journey — made a video, shared pictures, that kind of thing. When we drove through Denmark, the fact alone that we were driving a Model X was like we were driving a Lamborghini. Everywhere we stopped, people came over to talk about it — and I mean groups of people, not just that one curious guy.
I remember stopping in a small town where there was a café or pub on the other side of the street. We parked and were just going to walk over to the supermarket to buy food, and it felt like 20 people came out of the café and started talking to us about the car. They were so impressed that it could tow. They had so many questions. I stood there talking to them for a while, and they just kept coming. And it’s quite different from today, where you hear a lot of people say they’d never consider buying a Tesla — which is a sad development. For a moment there, Tesla was proving everyone wrong. It was showing that this is possible. That you can make great cars. That it can be a good car regardless of whether it has a gas engine or an electric motor. I completely bought into that, and I have zero regrets. But at least in Norway, mission accomplished.
Even now, there are still things Tesla got so right so early. When you’ve owned a Tesla for a while, you get into some of the other cars it just feels like going backwards. You sit down, press the brake, and wonder why the door isn’t closing (remember, automatic doors – to be fair, I feel this with our Model 3 at times as well). Then you remember it’s not your car. Also, you have to press a start button? You get some chime some corporate guy decided you need to hear every time. You get out, walk away, and people forget to turn the engine off or forget to lock the car — because you get used to a car that just works in those little daily ways. Tesla nailed that “computer on wheels” feeling years ago.
And that’s part of what I’m thinking about now: how good these cars were back then already, and how far ahead they felt. And somehow, other brands have been able to work way back into the competition while Tesla forfeited their position voluntarily. There are companies coming out of left field (at least for us Europeans), especially from China, and they’re popping up fast. Xiaomi, for example, is one of those brands I’d probably consider, strongly, if it became available here. I don’t think Tesla was always right about everything either. I still wish there was a bit more physical control for some things — temperature, maybe seat heaters — and I think the pendulum swung a little bit too far. There’s a middle ground. It’s just sad that Tesla had such a lead and then, in some ways, let it rot over the years.
So… yeah. Thanks for the journey, Tesla. I’m sad to see the Model S and Model X go — not because I think I’d buy a new one today, but because they meant something. And for me, the Model S especially will always be that car.
