Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk has announced that the company will end production of its flagship Model S and Model X in Q2 2026. The announcement was made during Tesla’s Q4 2025 earnings call, where Musk stated that “it’s time to bring the Model S and X programs to an end with an honourable discharge.” This will only leave three production models on sale from Tesla, being the Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck.
Musk added that Tesla plans to repurpose the Fremont Factory in the US — which currently produces the Model S and X — to manufacture the company’s Optimus humanoid robots, with a long-term production target of up to one million units, as the company believes that “the future is autonomous”.
While production of these models might be ending soon, Musk assured existing owners that Tesla will continue to provide after-sales support for the Model S and X for “as long as people have the vehicles.”
First introduced in 2012, the Tesla Model S played a pivotal role in transforming the automotive industry and putting Tesla on the global stage. Often regarded as the godfather of modern electric vehicles, it showed that a pure EV could be a genuinely desirable car for the general buyer. Early versions were offered with battery capacities of up to 85 kWh, delivering up to 265 miles (427 km) of range under the EPA testing cycle.
While those figures may seem modest by today’s standards, the Model S redefined expectations at the time. Its performance variant proved that electric luxury sedans could outperform traditional supercars, sprinting from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in just 4.4 seconds, powered by a single rear-mounted electric motor producing 422 hp and 600 Nm of torque.
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Riding the wave of the global SUV boom, Tesla followed up in 2015 with the launch of the Model X. Featuring its now-iconic falcon-wing rear doors, the Model X once again broke new ground in the EV space, offering a genuinely usable and family-friendly alternative to conventional petrol-powered full-size luxury SUVs.
At the time, Tesla’s only real competitor in the electric vehicle market was the Nissan Leaf, which at the time offered just 109 hp and 280 Nm from a front-mounted electric motor, along with a driving range of around 160 km. Performance wasn’t the only differentiator as the Tesla models all came with a futuristic interior design complete with large touch screens — further highlighting how far ahead Tesla’s flagship models were in terms of technology.
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While those models were revolutionary, consumer preferences evolve, and products inevitably move on. According to Tesla’s 2025 delivery report, the company delivered more than 1.5 million units worldwide of the Model 3 and Model Y combined. In contrast, “other models”, including the Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X, accounted for just 50,850 units. Despite regular updates, both models struggled to maintain relevance in a market increasingly dominated by more affordable EVs and newer platform architectures.
Its other models have not been performing up to the company’s expectations too, with overall deliveries last year falling by 8.6%, leading to a 3% revenue drop in 2025 (11% in the automotive segment), the first time on record that the company has recorded an annual decline.
In response, Musk said that Tesla will continue investing heavily in its Robotaxi programme alongside its Optimus robot ambitions as part of the company’s long-term autonomous vision. With more than 500 Robotaxi units reportedly now operating in Austin, Texas, Musk also confirmed that Tesla’s purpose-built CyberCab is expected to enter production as early as April.
We don’t know yet what the future holds for the American brand, but one thing’s for sure: Tesla is no longer a car company, with Musk focusing fully instead on AI, autonomous driving, and robotics.
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