Tesla Once Again Increases Prices Across Automobile Lineup

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Tesla has been one of the most sought-after car brands in recent years, and prospective buyers who planned to get one may have to double-check their finances as the brand raised its prices again, increasing by up to $6,000.

Earlier this year, the Elon Musk-owned automobile company raised the prices of its luxury electric vehicles multiple times, particularly in March when the brand gave two significant price hikes. April saw small increases on selected Model 3s.

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Electrek, which had been tracking price increases, reported that Tesla updated its online configurator recently. On Wednesday, the configurator represented the price increase on its entire lineup.

Wayback Machine’s archived copies of the company’s website taken as recently as April 23 confirmed a price difference.

Although neither Elon Musk nor Tesla offered an explanation for the price increase, they were not the only ones, as other automakers also had price hikes. Instead, people speculate that factors like inflation, supply chain issues, and slow production in China are to blame.

During Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call in April, Elon Musk shared his belief that inflation was worse than the media reported and speculated that it could linger throughout the year. He also noted that future production would be held back by global commodity supply constraints.

A few weeks ago, Musk warned about the risk of a recession, and earlier this month told people that he had a bad feeling about the economy, leading to his decision to cut 10% of jobs at Tesla. Unfortunately, the only people safe from the chop were in the manufacturing aspect.

While shareholders and analysts are wondering if the price hikes would affect demand, veteran industry analyst Sam Fiorani of Global Vehicle Forecasting at AutoForecast doesn’t believe it will.

“Startups will all need to raise their prices, especially as their profits are small to non-existent at the beginning, and this has already been a PR nightmare for Rivian,” said Fiorani in March. “With the popularity of Tesla and its place as market leader, demand isn’t likely to be hurt by the new pricing.”

Tesla is expected to share the 2nd quarter delivery numbers in the early weeks of July.

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