Price Chopper: Tesla Sinks Stickers As U.S. Factory Comes Back Online
by Steph Willems
Hoping to reduce the coronavirus pandemic’s strain on its balance sheet, Tesla slashed prices on three of its four models on Wednesday. While the company posted a surprise first-quarter profit last month, no one expects Q2 to be similarly rosy.
Tesla only recently fired up its Fremont, California assembly plant amid a cloud of threats and a lawsuit targeting Alameda County officials. With sales severely hampered by both the weeks-long shutdown and state-level stay-at-home orders, getting new Teslas out of the factory and into driveways becomes even more important than it was before. Perhaps consumers respond well to lower prices…
As reported by Reuters, J.D. Power data suggests Tesla sales sank by half in April on a year-over-year basis. The push is on to recover its customers and restore its revenue flow.
Both the Model S and Model X, each a declining presence in the automaker’s portfolio, see their entry prices slashed by $5,000 — now coming in at $74,990 and $79,990, respectively. Pricier Performance versions see a similar $5k cut. Forget about that complimentary free Supercharger access, however.
The brand’s bread and butter, the Model 3, comes away with a smaller price decrease on the Standard Range Plus (the de facto entry-level model, given that the Standard Range was a ghost from the outset). That model’s price sinks two grand to $37,990.
Tesla’s newest model, the Model Y crossover, sees no change in price.
Overseas, a Chinese social media post spotted by The Verge suggests similar pricing reduction are in store for Model S and X customers in that market, though the Model 3, which rolls out of Tesla’s new Shanghai assembly plant, will see its recently reduced price remain stable.
[Image: Tesla]