Tesla cuts prices again in US

Tesla appears to be engaged in a veritable price war to boost sales of its electric vehicles.

In the message: The automaker has slashed the prices of the S and X, the most expensive models in the US market.

details: The reduction ranges from 4 to 9 percent.

• The base Model S costs $89,990, a 5 percent or $5,000 reduction.
• The price of the Plaid variant, the most powerful model, has been reduced by 4 percent and now costs $109,990.
• The biggest price cut is the Model X, with a $10,000 reduction.
  • The base version is now priced at $99,990 (-9 percent) and the Performance Blade version is $109,990 (-8 percent).

stimulus

Elon Musk: The new price cut comes as no surprise. At Tesla’s investor day last week, Elon Musk highlighted how his price-cutting strategy has worked and boosted demand for EVs.

• By doing so again, the CEO will no doubt want to repeat this success, but its most expensive models, the Model S and X, accounted for only 4 percent of its global shipments by 2022.
• “People’s desire to own a Tesla is very high. “The limiting factor is their ability to afford a Tesla,” he said last week.

Background: Demand for electric cars cooled last year due to the macroeconomic environment and inflation. But Tesla is also threatened by increasingly stiff competition, particularly from China, so it must respond.

Cheaper in Europe?: It is possible. These discounts on top models are expected to be applied to its more accessible vehicles in other markets, particularly in Europe.

• Tesla can afford a price war and the discounts are called the “nuclear option”: destructive because the American manufacturer has a higher range per vehicle than the competition and cannot afford such discounts.

(fjc/nd)