Tesla Model Y
Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images
  • Tesla’s Model Y standard range vehicle is no longer listed on the company’s sales webpage.
  • Tesla launched sales of the SUV in January, and slashed its price just last week.
  • It is unknown why the Model Y standard range is no longer listed, or whether the move is permanent.
  • Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

Tesla has stopped taking orders for its Model Y standard range, the electric carmaker’s second-cheapest vehicle, just days after slashing its price by $2,000.

On Thursday, the electric carmaker cut the price of its Model Y standard range, which it launched last month, from $41,990 to $39,990, making it just $3,000 more than Tesla’s cheapest vehicle, the Model 3 standard range plus.

The Model Y standard range sports utility vehicle is now no longer listed on the company’s sales webpage.

As well as not being listed on Tesla’s US and Canada sales sites, the standard range vehicle has also been removed from Tesla’s Model Y webpage, where customers can compare the different versions of the car.

Electrek first reported on the news on Sunday, noting that Tesla had also reduced the price of its Model Y long range by $1,000. This was separate to the automaker’s series of price cuts on Thursday.

It is unknown whether the move is permanent. Insider has contacted Tesla for comment.

The $48,990 long range model is now the cheapest available version of its sports utility vehicle. Tesla also sells a performance version with higher top speeds, which costs $60,990.

The entry-level version has a lower range of 244 miles, according to estimates by the EPA, compared to the long range version's 326-mile rating. The cheaper model also comes with rear-wheel drive, instead of the all-wheel-drive setup on the long range and performance versions.

Tesla began delivering Model Y vehicles in Shanghai, China, in January, but only offered the long range and performance versions. It is selling both models for almost a third less than the price Tesla quoted in August.

The news comes as Tesla ramps up efforts to make a more affordable electric car. In September, CEO Elon Musk said the company would make a $25,000 "fully autonomous" electric car in about three years. 

The head of Tesla China said the company's Shanghai research and development center, where it will develop the vehicle, will be running by the end of 2021.

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Read the original article on Business Insider