Tesla Reduces Starting Price of Its Model X SUV

Tesla Motors Inc. lowered the starting price of its Model X sport-utility vehicle to $75,200, offering a more limited range version called the 60D, as the company tries to capture buyers priced out of the higher-end models.

The number indicates the storage capacity of the battery pack. In this case, it is 60 kilowatt-hours, giving it 200 miles of range. Previously, the least expensive Model X was the 75D, which cost $84,200. The most expensive Model X is geared for speed and has a 90 kwh pack and 250 miles of range and starts at $116,700, including delivery fees.

Tesla a few weeks ago lowered the starting price of its sedan, the Model S, to $67,200, roughly $5,000 less than the previously least-expensive model, also offering a 60 kwh battery.

At the time, Tesla said it was hoping to offer customers who were interested in buying the forthcoming Model 3 sedan, expected to start at $35,000, a less expensive model that could allow them to buy a car immediately. This came after people placed nearly 400,000 reservations for the car, due out in the second half of next year.

Tesla's price cut comes as the company is trying to get a surge of sales in the second half of the year to reach a goal of at least 80,000 sales. First half sales fell short of 30,000 after a disappointing second quarter where deliveries were 15% lower than the company had projected.

Tesla has struggled with ramping up production on the Model X, which made its debut in the fall of 2015. Tesla had expected the new SUV to sell in equal numbers to its sedan, the Model S, but so far deliveries of the vehicle have been less than half that of the car.

Write to Mike Ramsey at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 13, 2016 10:55 ET (14:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.