Tesla Cuts Prices in U.S. to Promote Sales After Poor Year-End Deliveries

Tesla has cut the price of its vehicles in the U.S. and Europe to encourage sales following poor delivery figures at the end of 2022.

CNBC reports that according to listings on the company’s website on Thursday night, Tesla has once again lowered prices in the United States and across Europe. After increased competition and interest rates, the move in the U.S. may help Tesla qualify for more federal EV tax credits and boost sales volume domestically and internationally.

Europe, Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK saw price reductions on Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. According to Reuters, depending on the configuration, Tesla reduced the cost of the Model 3 and the Model Y in Germany by anywhere from 1 percent to about 17 percent. Tesla’s Model 3 and the Model Y were Germany’s two most popular electric vehicles in December 2022. In Germany, the business outperformed Volkswagen and its well-liked electric vehicle, the ID.4.

The ID.3 electric car from Volkswagen is comparable to Tesla’s Model 3 at its current price. The cost of a new Tesla Model 3 has decreased between 6 percent and 14 percent, depending on configuration, and the cost of the Model Y has decreased by about 19 percent, also depending on configuration, according to TroyTeslike, an independent EV industry researcher.

Tesla’s most recent round of price cuts might position the business to benefit from EV tax credits in the short- and long term. It also runs the risk of upsetting customers who just paid more to receive new electric cars from Tesla before the end of 2022. Tesla upset customers in China earlier this month by slashing prices on its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles there after many had agreed to take delivery at higher prices before December 31. According to a Reuters report, some of the customers held demonstrations and demanded refunds, but Tesla has not yet blinked.

Tesla offered discounts on the Model 3 and Model Y in late December to entice customers to take delivery before the end of the fourth quarter, totaling about $7,500. If they agreed to take delivery before the year ended, Tesla also offered a limited number of U.S. customers 10,000 miles’ worth of free charging (at Tesla Supercharging stations). Despite the discounts, Tesla reported 405,278 vehicle deliveries and 439,701 vehicle production in the fourth quarter of 2022. The company had advised shareholders to anticipate a multi-year growth in vehicle deliveries of 50 percent per year, but fourth-quarter results fell short of both these targets.

Shares of Tesla opened down over three percent at a price of around $119.32 on Friday morning following the news. The stock price had rallied by about 9.5 percent over the past five sessions, with traders speculating a bottom forming after an overall decline of 65 percent in 2022.

Read more at CNBC here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan