Why is Elon Musk pushing buyers towards scarce Tesla EVs?

Tesla is encouraging drivers who want a brand new Tesla Model S or X to act quickly because the automaker is pulling the plug on both electric models, and the company's CEO Elon Musk says supplies are dwindling.

Musk said in an April 8 social media post that his company is down to "only a few hundred" of its Model S luxury electric sedans and Model X luxury electric SUVs now that new production of the vehicles has ended. The company is eliminating its lowest-selling models in favor of a plan to build robots, Musk told investors on Tesla's Jan. 28 earnings call.

"Only a few hundred Tesla Model S & X cars left in inventory," Musk said. "Order now if you want one."

The comments come as Tesla's sales have slumped to the point that the automaker has thousands of unsold EVs on its hands.

Why is Tesla eliminating the Model S and Model X?

Musk said in January his company is planning to convert space in their Fremont, California, factory that is currently used to build Model S and X vehicles into an Optimus robot factory. 

"I think it's time to bring the Model S and X to an end, with an honorable discharge," Musk said on a January call with investors. "Because we're really moving into a future that is based on autonomy." 

Musk told investors during the call that it was "slightly sad, but it is time to bring the S/X program to an end."

"It's part of our overall shift to an autonomous future," he said. "The only vehicles that we'll make will be autonomous vehicles, with the exception of the next generation Roadster."

Tesla launched the Model S in 2013, and it debuted the Model X in 2015.

The Model S in particular did well commercially for a time, but both vehicles have been surpassed in recent years by Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

How much does the Model S or Model X cost?

The Model S starts at $82,000, and the Model X starts at $84,990.

The average price of a used Model S is $30,310, according to Kelly Blue Book. The average price of a used Model X is  $43,477.

Why are Tesla's US EV sales falling?

Tesla produced 50,363 more electric cars than it was able to sell in the first three months of 2026, even with a slight uptick in EV interest reported amid rising gas prices.

The nation's biggest electric car seller produced 408,386 cars globally in the first three months of 2026, according to a report released by company on April 2. But Tesla said it was only able to sell 358,023 of those cars in the first three months of 2026.

Further, Tesla sold 589,160 cars in the United States in 2025, down 7% from the 633,762 vehicles it sold domestically in 2024. The drop occurred despite the fact that overall EV sales accounted for represented 9.6% of U.S. auto sales in 2025, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

Tesla attributed the challenges it faced in 2025 to "near-term uncertainty from shifting trade, tariff and fiscal policy" in a presentation to investors after the third quarter of 2025.

Industry analysts have also noted the impact of Musk's work with President Donald Trump and his staunch conservative political stances on the company's sales performance. Tesla is also facing increasing competitors from other manufacturers who are debuting new electric models, even as some automakers are pulling back to recent dips in EV demand and the elimination of federal support for the technology.