The Tesla Model Y has witnessed a price hike of USD 1,000, affecting its entire model lineup. The Model Y prices now start at USD 44,990 for the base, USD 49,990 for the long-range and USD 53,490 for the performance variant, respectively.
The price hike has been announced amid the EV industry slowdown, which has also affected Tesla dearly. While the whole EV industry is facing a slowdown, Tesla’s downfall can be attributed to slow model updates and high interest rates that are drifting prospective customers away from exorbitant purchases. Other EV carmakers like Fisker and Rivian are also struggling to face the slowdown and the former is almost nearing bankruptcy while desperately looking for a partner.
Tesla is also struggling in China, which is the world’s biggest automotive market. Amid the emerging EV market in China that BYD, a Chinese EV maker, leads, Tesla is in the middle of a price war desperately lowering the price of its vehicles to fight with competition. Tesla slashed the prices of the Model 3 and Model Y in China by up to 6% in order to maintain its lead in the premium EV segment.
Furthermore, new research done by market intelligence firm Calibar anticipated weak quarterly sales, which could be a result of aggressive price cuts in China. The quarterly and yearly sales results can also affect the share price of Tesla. Reports also suggest that Tesla’s downfall can also be attributed to Musk’s reputation owing to the increasing right-wing politics and controversial public statements.
Coming back to the Tesla Model Y price hike, no specified reason has been given for the same. Tesla has been notorious for adjusting its car prices concerning the market dynamics and thereby altering the demand and supply. Given the overall downtrend of EV sales, the price hike for the Model Y doesn’t seem to stay for long.