According to Reuters, following price cuts in the U.S. market, Tesla has lowered prices in major global markets such as China and Germany to counter declining sales and intensifying price wars in the electric vehicle market.
On April 19, Tesla reduced the prices of Model Y, Model X, and Model S by $2,000 in the U.S. On April 20, Tesla also lowered the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software from $12,000 to $8,000 in the U.S.
On April 21, Tesla's Chinese website showed that the company lowered prices for Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X in China. The prices of these four models were reduced by a total of 14,000 yuan (about $1,930) across nine versions.
Specifically, the starting price of Model 3 was reduced to 231,900 yuan (about $32,000); the rear-wheel-drive version of Model Y was reduced to 249,900 yuan, and the long-range version was reduced to 290,900 yuan; Model S starting price was lowered to 684,900 yuan; Model X starting price was lowered to 724,900 yuan.
In the German market, the price of Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel-drive version was lowered from 42,990 euros since February this year to 40,990 euros (about $43,670.75).
A Tesla spokesperson stated that the company is also lowering prices in many other countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
On April 21, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated on the social media platform X, "Tesla's prices must change frequently to match production with demand." It is reported that in the first quarter of this year, Tesla experienced its first decline in global car deliveries in nearly four years, with production exceeding deliveries by 46,561 units.
A year ago, Tesla significantly reduced prices at the expense of profit margins, sparking an electric vehicle price war. However, due to high interest rates dampening consumer desire for large purchases, Tesla has been slow in updating its older models, while Chinese competitors are introducing cheaper models, intensifying competition for Tesla.
Last weekend, Musk postponed his planned trip to India, where he was scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Modi, citing Tesla's work. Reuters previously reported that Musk's trip was intended to announce Tesla's plans to enter the Indian market.
Musk also stated last week that Tesla would be cutting staff by over 10% globally. Musk emphasized, "Reducing costs and improving productivity are extremely important across all aspects of the company."
Earlier, Reuters also reported that Tesla had abandoned plans for an affordable electric car and instead focused on developing autonomous driving rental cars. Subsequently, Musk tweeted that "Reuters is lying," without specifying any inaccuracies. Musk has not further discussed this car, prompting strong demands from investors for clarification.
Tesla's stock price has fallen by 40.8% since the beginning of this year.
