Tesla models, prices, charging, stock: A complete guide to the electric vehicle maker

• Tesla has introduced innovative features and products, from its lineup of vehicles to Autopilot.
• The Elon Musk-run company also faces competition from other electric vehicle startups.
• Tesla's future products include a robotaxi and a humanoid robot called Optimus.

Since Tesla was founded in 2003 and its IPO in 2010, Elon Musk's electric-car company has contended with high highs and low lows. And throughout Tesla's history, the automaker managed to put electric vehicles on the map and become the most valuable car company on the planet.

Working at Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has led the company to outperform traditional automakers over the last few years.

But that doesn't mean the carmaker is immune to economic headwinds. Tesla has been through periods of rapid growth — and numerous rounds of Tesla layoffs, with the most recent in 2024 seeing over 10% of Tesla's workforce laid off. 

Musk has also been very critical of work-from-home and starting in the summer of 2022, all but killed the Tesla WFH policy, telling executive staff that they needed to return to the office or resign. 

Musk officially moved Tesla headquarters from California to Austin, Texas in December 2021. However, it still employs thousands of workers in California. In February 2023, Musk said the company was moving into office space in Palo Alto that was previously occupied by Hewlett-Packard. 

Tesla has six gigafactories in the US, Europe, and Asia, where it builds batteries and electric vehicles. Musk spoke at Tesla's 2022 annual meeting about wanting to 10 to 12 more in the next several years. Expanding the Tesla gigafactory network would boost the company's manufacturing capabilities. 

TSLA Stock

Tesla's stock price was essentially flat for several years after its 2010 IPO. But in 2013, Motor Trend named the Model S its Car of the Year. At that point, Tesla's share price took off. If you bought Tesla stock right after the IPO and held on, you'd be looking at a 1,000%-plus return.

Tesla revenue was $96.8 billion in 2023, with $78.5 billion of that coming from sales of its EVs. The company also makes money from its energy business and through selling regulatory credits to other automakers — a side hustle that earned Tesla nearly $1.8 billion in 2023. 

Investors have recently been most concerned about price cuts, a lack of new vehicles, and Musk's commitments at his other companies.

The latest Tesla earnings call in July 2024 revealed overall revenue rose 2% to $25.5 billion, but operating profit fell 33% to $1.61 billion, $200 million below estimates.

Along with the rest of the auto industry, Tesla's business has been hit by the slowdown in EV sales. Musk told investors in January 2024 that the automaker was "between two major growth waves."  

Tesla products

From least to most expensive, the Tesla models are Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X. The names of the models spell out the word "S3XY." Leave it to Musk to sprinkle in some juvenile humor wherever possible. 

The company also sells the Tesla Cybertruck, a futuristic pickup truck that it began delivering to customers in 2023, and the Tesla Semi, an 18-wheeler that was released in 2022 and is Tesla's first commercial vehicle. 

The Model 3 and Model S are sedans, while the Model Y and Model X are SUVs. The vehicles fall in a price range of $38,990 to $94,990. Because Tesla sells direct to consumers, its prices have been known to change.

The entry-level Tesla Model 3 cost is one that often fluctuates. The current starting price is $38,990, with some Model 3 versions eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit in the US. 

Tesla's Model S, a luxury family sedan, is the EV maker's oldest vehicle still in production. It costs nearly $75,000 for the most basic version, and Tesla claims it's the most aerodynamic production car on Earth. Tesla delivered the first Model S to a customer in June 2012. 

For a buyer comparing Tesla Model 3 vs. Model S, the Model 3 will be more accessible to more buyers because of its lower cost. For drivers looking to splurge, the Model S delivers a high-end luxury vehicle with more space and better performance than the Model 3. 

The Model X SUV is the biggest and most expensive vehicle Tesla sells to everyday drivers. At a starting price of $79,990, it comes with five seats, but you can pay extra for a third row with six- or seven-seat layouts.

The Model X's falcon-wing rear doors swing up instead of out, making it look like some kind of spaceship. The all-wheel drive version of the Mode X is eligible for the $7,500 tax credit in the US, but the more expensive Plaid version is not. 

Tesla's smaller SUV is the Model Y, which is one of Tesla's cheaper offerings alongside the Model 3 sedan. It starts at $44,990 before tax incentives, and recently became the best-selling vehicle in the world. 

The Cybertruck is the newest addition to Tesla's vehicle lineup. The space-age pickup has a stainless steel body and comes packed with futuristic features. It's also extremely pricey, with the cheapest Cybertruck starting at just under $100,000 — though Tesla has said cheaper versions of the Cybertruck will be coming next year.

EV features

Some Tesla features are what you might expect from a modern electric car, like the app and keycard. Others reflect Musk's unique sense of humor and have added to Tesla's cult following. While Autopilot gets a lot of attention, the cars come equipped with many more, including the "frunk," "Dog mode," and "Ludicrous Plus Mode."

The carmaker brought minimalist and unique interior design to the auto industry. Tesla interiors were among the first to cut the instrument cluster and introduce a steering yoke.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving software beta was first released in 2020 and is now available to anyone who pays for the software upon request. Tesla FSD is not self-driving, despite the name. The tech enables Teslas to automatically change lanes, enter and exit highways, recognize stop signs and traffic lights, and park.

Charging and batteries

Superchargers are the fastest way to charge a Tesla and the closest you can get to gas station-like refueling times. The company says the best Superchargers can add 162-200 miles of range in 15 minutes.

The company offers a Tesla Supercharger map where users can look up locations of chargers. There are more than 50,000 worldwide, up from 10,000 in 2018.

Where possible, Tesla Supercharger cost is charged per kilowatt hour (kWh) used. Where Tesla is unable to bill per kilowatt hour, they will instead charge a per-minute fee. To access the Tesla network as a non-Tesla owner, you will need the Tesla smartphone app.

A Tesla destination charger lets users charge their cars at locations like hotels, malls, and restaurants. Unlike Supercharging, destination charging is designed more for overnight stopovers or to stay topped up while running errands, as opposed to short breaks in a road trip. 

There are ways to charge your Tesla without stopping to charge — some are more realistic than others. One YouTuber's experiment involved a Tesla with a generator, powering his Model S during an 1,800-mile road trip through the Midwest without stopping to plug in. (He did have to stop for gas for his generator, ironically.)

How long does it take to charge a Tesla at home? A full charge can be achieved in 8 to 10 hours if you install a 240-volt outlet, like the kind used to power clothes dryers. You can also charge with a $230 Tesla mobile connector plugged into any standard outlet and get from three to 30 miles of range per hour charged.

Tesla guarantees its batteries for eight years or 100,000-150,000 miles, whichever comes first. The cost of Tesla battery replacement would be steep. In 2019, Elon Musk put the cost between $5,000 and $10,000. 

EV competitor comparisons

Tesla isn't the EV game in town, with new competitors popping up all the time. But are any worth considering over a Tesla?

One up-and-coming electric car brand gunning for some of Tesla's success is Polestar. The Tesla Model 3 competes directly with the Polestar 2. Putting Tesla vs Polestar head to head reveals that the brands have a lot in common, including online ordering, simple interiors, and an emphasis on performance. The Polestar 2 has a more user-friendly touchscreen setup and is more expensive. 

Rivian, one of the most successful electric vehicle startups in the US, is another Tesla competitor. The Tesla Model X and Cybertruck pickup compete with Rivian's R1T pickup and R1S SUV. When comparing Tesla vs. Rivian, Rivian, whose brand is all about getting outdoors, is catering to buyers who want a larger vehicle and better off-road capability. Tesla's cars are more about on-road performance, and they deliver that in spades, particularly if you choose a sportier model, like the Tesla Model S Plaid.

Lucid is a promising EV startup based in California. Lucid's CEO, Peter Rawlinson, was previously a top engineer at Tesla. Lucid's entry-level Air Pure starts at $75,225 before taxes and fees. The model's pricing goes all the way up to $249,000 for the Air Sapphire, a super-powerful speed monster.

In a Tesla vs. Lucid matchup, Tesla's closest competitor would be its Model S sedan, which also delivers tons of range, awe-inspiring quickness, and lots of advanced technology. 

EV fans are patiently waiting on several future Tesla models, including a new roadster, a cheap EV, and a self-driving taxi. Many of these vehicles have already faced long delays.

Tesla is expected to unveil its long-awaited robotaxi in October. Musk has been promising that Tesla will release a self-driving vehicle since 2019, when he said the company would have 1 million robotaxis on the road by the following year. 

The billionaire has said Tesla's driverless taxi business will function like "a combination of Airbnb and Uber," and tied the automaker's future to its ability to crack self-driving vehicles. 

Musk has also said that Tesla is working on a more affordable EV, after hinting for years that the company is planning to release a $25,000 electric vehicle. In Tesla's most recent earnings call, Musk said the company would unveil a more affordable model in the first half of 2025, but didn't provide any more details.  

The original Tesla Roadster was the company's first vehicle and was a limited-production sports car. The new Tesla Roadster was first announced in 2017, but its release has been delayed, with Musk recently saying production will begin in 2025. The new Roadster base model would cost $200,000, Tesla said when it announced the car's return.

Whether the company makes a Tesla tiny house has been unclear. The company does not offer housing of any kind in its product lineup. However, Elon Musk has spoken about owning a tiny house from the company Boxabl.

Musk does, however, have Tesla robots in the works. In 2021, Elon Musk announced a Tesla humanoid robot named Optimus. It is designed to help reduce the labor shortage, according to Musk, and keep workers safer.  Optimus will use Tesla's Autopilot software connected to eight cameras feeding into its neural network.

Tesla drivers

A study that analyzed drivers of several Tesla models found that the typical Tesla owner is a white man with a household income over $130,000 a year. Tesla owners are also more likely to own a home.

In 2023, more than a dozen Tesla owners told Insider the best and worst parts of owning their cars. They said cost, performance, technology, the Supercharger network, and home charging were among the best Tesla features. Cons of Tesla ownership, according to this group of drivers, include a stiff ride, build quality, association with Elon Musk, and customer service.

Experts have said that Tesla customer service complaints could tarnish the brand's reputation. Electric vehicle owners who spoke to Business Insider have had mixed reviews, commenting that their experiences ranged from frustrating to quick and easy.

Tesla car insurance costs more than other cars, partly due to expensive repairs. Tesla launched its own cheaper insurance product in 2019 to squeeze other insurance providers. However, it's only available in certain states.

A Tesla tax credit is available for some variants of the Model 3 and X vehicles, plus Tesla's Model Y, alongside other models from Chevrolet, Ford, Rivian, and more. The tax credit for EVs, which can be up to $7,500, was introduced to encourage electric car production and adoption in the US.

Tesla has won some praise for pushing electric and self-driving vehicles to new heights, but its cars have also been involved in hundreds of deaths. According to the Tesla Deaths database, which cites news articles as well as reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), some 555 people have died in incidents involving a Tesla.

In December 2023, Tesla recalled over 2 million vehicles after regulators found that the company's Autopilot driving assistance tech didn't do enough to prevent misuse. In a report released in April 2024, the NHTSA said it was investigating 956 Tesla crashes between January 2018 and August 2023 where Autopilot was involved, 29 of which resulted in fatalities.