China Economic Weekly - Economic Network News: After 4 days, Tesla has announced another price increase! On November 14th, according to Tesla China Weibo, the selling price of the Model 3/Y rear wheel drive version officially increased from that day onwards. The price of the Model 3 rear wheel drive version has increased by 1500 yuan to 261400 yuan, while the Model Y rear wheel drive version has increased by 2500 yuan to 266400 yuan.
Regarding this, some netizens said, "Tesla has raised its price again, is there no other way?" "The 2000 yuan increase is really only for the purpose of forcing orders." "Sales and profits must always be guaranteed.
Previously, on November 9th, Tesla China adjusted the price of the Model Y all wheel drive long range version to 302400 yuan, up 2500 yuan from 299900 yuan. The selling price of the Model 3 Long Range Edition has been adjusted to 297400 yuan, with an increase of 1500 yuan.
Not long ago, Tesla just completed the price increase for the Model Y high-performance version. On October 27th, Tesla's official Weibo account announced that the price of the domestically produced Model Y high-performance version was increased by 14000 yuan, with an adjusted price of 363900 yuan. At that time, Tesla stated in an interview with the media that only the domestically produced Model Y high-performance version had a price increase, while the prices of the rear wheel drive standard and long range Model Y remained unchanged.
In the view of Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the National Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference, Tesla's move to increase the prices of Model Y and Model 3 is a price adjustment plan made due to increased profit pressure.
It is worth noting that at the beginning of this year, Tesla significantly reduced prices in multiple countries and regions such as China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Europe, involving best-selling models such as the Model 3 and Model Y, becoming the main reason for the high sales growth in the first two quarters of this year. Musk has expressed his willingness to lower the prices of electric vehicles again during turbulent times, even though it may affect the company's gross profit margin, but he is willing to sacrifice gross profit margin for sales growth. Musk stated that with loan interest rates continuing to rise, the Model 3 and Model Y, which focus on the people-oriented market, are becoming unaffordable to users. Tesla needs to continue to lower prices to reduce users' monthly repayment pressure, so that more people can afford it, "Musk said.
However, the continuous large-scale price reduction has significantly reduced Tesla's gross profit margin. On October 18th, Tesla released its financial report for the third quarter of 2023. The data showed that Tesla's total revenue for the third quarter was $23.35 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9%. However, its gross profit was $4.178 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 22%. The gross profit margin was 17.9%, lower than the 18.2% in the previous quarter and 25.1% in the same period last year.