Tesla has further cut prices across the majority of its models in its US home market along with adding a new variant to its Model Y line-up.
The latest cuts come only after a month when Tesla reduced prices on its flagship Model S & Model X vehicles. For the Model S and Model X prices have dropped by nearly 10% in just under a month.
The latest prices were summed up by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt on Twitter:
BREAKING: @Tesla has reduced the starting prices of the Model S & Model X in the US by up to ~5%.
• Model S AWD: $84,990 (from $89,990)
• Model S Plaid: $104,990 (from $109,990)
• Model X AWD: $94,990 (from $99,990)
• Model X Plaid: $104,990 (from $109,990) pic.twitter.com/h7j4uNsmnM— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) April 7, 2023
The new pricing means that the Model S dual-motor Long Range starts at the equivalent of under $A127,390 before on-roads while the tri-motor Plaid version of the luxury sedan is hovering around $A157,360.
The Model X SUV starts at $A142,380 for the dual-motor Long Range and the Plaid comes at the same price as the Model S, $A157,360 before any on-roads.
These models were originally introduced on Tesla’s Australian online configurator back in June 2021, the Model S Long Range was priced very similarly to the latest prices in the US.
The Model S Long Range was priced at $A129,990 before on-roads while the Plaid was more expensive at $A186,990.
Since then the Model S and Model X prices have been removed as hundreds of order holders await updates on the delivery timelines of the right-hand-drive version of the Model S.
The latest round of price cuts has also seen the more popular Model 3 RWD and Performance variants see a cut in the price of $US1,000.
The Model 3 RWD is priced higher than here in Australia after the recent price cuts. In the US, the Model 3 RWD variant is priced equivalent to $A62,940 which is nearly $A2,000 more.
The Performance variant is priced much lower than here in Australia coming in at $A79,420 which is over $A6,000 less.
Tesla has not been selling the Long Range variant in the US market since August 2022 but it’s expected to make a come-back later in 2023.
Tesla Model Y also saw price cuts on the dual-motor Long Range and Performance variants while a third dual-motor variant was also added to the Tesla US configurator:
BREAKING: @Tesla has officially launched a new lower priced Model Y AWD variant in the US on their online configurator for $49,990. Prices also were reduced.
• Model Y AWD: $49,990 (4680 model likely)
• Model Y LR: $52,990 (from $54,990)
• Model Y P: $56,990 (from $58,990) pic.twitter.com/uZbiGK14zL— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) April 7, 2023
The range stats of 279 miles indicate that it could be the variant with Tesla’s new 4680 battery cells that in the long-term would be very cost-effective batteries in Tesla’s vehicles.
Vehicles with these batteries have previously been made at Tesla’s GigaTexas factory and were trickled slowly into the inventory last year.
With this variant being available on the configurator now and priced under the other Model Y configurations, it’s a good sign that Tesla has made significant progress in manufacturing enough of the 4680 batteries for mass vehicle production.
The latest price cuts show that Tesla can continue to pass manufacturing cost savings onto customers while winning market share in tougher economic times in the US.
This would make it very difficult for traditional manufacturers to compete with Tesla in the US. These new prices are now forcing manufacturers to make further cuts to their loss-making EV range while Tesla continues to ramp manufacturing and gain market share.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.