Tesla Model S and Model X: Colors Selling Out as the End of an Era Approaches | Taha Abbasi

Taha Abbasi marks a bittersweet milestone in Tesla’s history as the Model S and Model X Online Design Studio begins showing color options as “Sold Out.” Lunar Silver has become the first color listed as unavailable for both vehicles, providing tangible evidence that Tesla is winding down production of its original flagship sedan and luxury SUV — the vehicles that launched the modern electric vehicle revolution and proved to the world that EVs could be desirable, fast, and genuinely premium.

Lunar Silver Goes First: The Colors Are Fading

Tesla’s Design Studio now lists Lunar Silver as “Sold Out” for both the Model S and Model X. Other colors remain available for now, but the trajectory is clear. As Tesla approaches the end of production for these models, configuration options will progressively thin until the final units roll off the Fremont assembly line. For Taha Abbasi, watching the Model S palette shrink feels like watching the final chapters of a story that reshaped an entire industry.

Tesla confirmed previously that Model S and Model X production will end as factory resources are reallocated to higher-volume, next-generation vehicles. The exact end date hasn’t been announced, but the sold-out color options provide a visible countdown. Once all colors, configurations, and battery options are exhausted, the Model S and Model X chapter closes permanently.

The Model S Legacy: 2012-2026

When the Model S launched in 2012, Tesla was a niche company with a single expensive sports car and mounting skepticism from every corner of the automotive establishment. The Model S changed everything. It won Motor Trend’s Car of the Year unanimously — the first electric car to do so. It achieved the highest safety ratings NHTSA had ever recorded. It proved that an electric sedan could out-accelerate sports cars, out-range competitor EVs by hundreds of miles, and deliver a luxury experience that rivaled or exceeded Mercedes, BMW, and Audi.

More importantly, the Model S changed the conversation about electric vehicles. Before the Model S, EVs were associated with compromise — limited range, slow performance, unattractive design. The Model S was the first EV that people wanted not despite it being electric, but regardless of what powered it. It was simply a great car that happened to be electric. That perception shift, more than any single technological achievement, is the Model S’s lasting contribution to the automotive industry.

The Model X: Bold Design, Genuine Innovation

The Model X, launched in 2015, brought its own legacy of innovation and controversy. The falcon-wing doors were polarizing — engineering marvels that solved a real problem (rear-seat access in tight spaces) while creating new ones (complexity, cost, reliability concerns in early production). But they also gave the Model X an unmistakable identity that no other SUV could match. As Taha Abbasi notes, the willingness to take that kind of design risk is what separated Tesla from automakers who were content to produce conventional vehicles with electric powertrains bolted on.

The Model X also pioneered the large-touchscreen interior that became the industry template. Its combination of SUV utility, supercar acceleration, and distinctive design created a vehicle category that didn’t exist before. The Model X proved that family vehicles didn’t have to be boring, that practicality and excitement could coexist, and that electric powertrains could deliver both.

Why Tesla Is Moving On

The decision to end Model S and Model X production is strategic, not a reflection of the vehicles’ quality or competitiveness. Both remain excellent vehicles in their segments — the Model S Plaid delivers over 1,000 horsepower and sub-2-second 0-60 times, performance that very few vehicles at any price can match. But the Fremont factory’s capacity is limited and valuable, and these vehicles sell approximately 50,000-60,000 units annually combined — a fraction of what the same production space could generate building Model 3, Model Y, or next-generation vehicles.

The economics are straightforward. Tesla’s growth strategy requires maximizing production of its highest-volume, most profitable vehicles. Every production hour spent on low-volume models is a production hour not spent on vehicles with stronger demand and potentially better margins. The next-generation vehicle platform, which offers significant manufacturing cost reductions, makes this reallocation even more compelling.

The Collector Opportunity

Taha Abbasi advises prospective buyers and collectors: the window to configure and purchase a new Model S or Model X is closing. As color options sell out and production winds down, the remaining configurations will become increasingly limited. Final-edition vehicles, particularly the Model S Plaid and fully loaded Model X, hold potential collector value. They represent the pinnacle of a vehicle lineage that launched the modern EV era.

The Model S Plaid, in particular, may become historically significant as one of the fastest production sedans ever built and the culmination of Tesla’s sedan engineering. Similarly, the Model X with falcon-wing doors represents a design philosophy that Tesla is unlikely to repeat. For collectors who value automotive history, the final production runs could be worth preserving.

What Comes Next

Tesla hasn’t announced direct replacements, but the company’s roadmap includes next-generation vehicles built on a new platform with dramatically lower manufacturing costs. Whether a future Tesla sedan or large SUV captures the magic of the Model S and Model X remains to be seen. These vehicles carried cultural significance beyond their specifications — they were the cars that made Tesla a household name, that convinced the skeptics, that started the revolution. Whatever comes next inherits that legacy. Taha Abbasi will be watching as the final colors sell out and an era draws to its close.

For more insights, read: Tesla Drops Standard Label, Tesla JD Power.

About the Author: Taha Abbasi is a technology executive, CTO, and applied frontier tech builder. Read more on Grokpedia | YouTube: The Brown Cowboy | tahaabbasi.com