In the current increasingly fierce domestic "price war", Tesla may once again perform a "reverse operation".
After Tesla raised the price of the Model Y rear wheel drive version in the United States from $42990 to $43990 on March 12, and the Model Y long range version from $47990 to $48990, Tesla announced on March 15 local time that the price of the Model Y model in the North American market will rise again by $1000 on April 1.
The Caixin News Agency reporter learned from multiple Tesla stores that the domestically produced Tesla Model Y also has an expected price increase, but the specific increase is currently unknown. It is expected that the increase will be similar to that in North America, and it is certain that the Model Y will not lower its price in the near future. "A Tesla store salesperson introduced that interested consumers can pay a deposit of 1000 yuan to complete the warranty period of two months." (After the warranty period) If there is an official price increase, your purchase price will be based on the price when the deposit is paid.
Tesla China has not provided a clear response to this, only stating that currently only the North American market has explicitly announced price adjustments.
Since BYD launched a "price war" at the beginning of the the Year of the Loong, the scope of the market and the intensity of competition have continued to intensify. According to incomplete statistics by reporters, more than 60 models from over 20 brands have participated in the competition so far. "Tesla has never been priced based on the market, but rather on cost," said the aforementioned salesperson.
This is not the first time Tesla has gone against the trend by raising prices. In the fourth quarter of last year, Tesla completed a three day surge against the trend within 19 days, involving the Model 3/Y. At that time, some salespeople bluntly stated that the price increase was initiated by Tesla China, mainly due to factors such as high production line pressure and rising production costs, rather than market factors. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Tesla's sales in China in February this year were 30141 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 11.1%; In the first two months of this year, Tesla China sold a total of 70022 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 15.2%.
However, Tesla still regards "lowering prices by lowering costs" as one of its important goals for 2024. Tesla CEO Elon Musk bluntly stated that the importance of cost cannot be overemphasized, "We must make our products more affordable so that people can afford them." Tesla's CFO and Chief Accounting Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, also stated that Tesla will firmly pursue further cost reduction in 2024.
"Every price adjustment of Tesla will attract attention both inside and outside the industry, especially at a time when the 'price war' continues to heat up." According to the analysis of some insiders, Tesla's sales performance in China has been very stable, and what Tesla is facing now is the constant adjustment between "sales" and "profits".