Experian data: Tesla’s deep price cuts are working — mostly
Tesla reduced the Model Y starting price from $67,440 with shipping at the beginning of the year to $56,630 by the end of the first quarter. The automaker reported a 24 percent drop in net income due to global price reductions and other factors, it said.
In the U.S., the Model Y became eligible for a new federal tax credit of up to $7,500 as of Jan. 1, providing a further incentive to buyers. A year earlier, Tesla buyers were not eligible for a federal tax break because, under the old rules, the automaker had reached its quota for the credits.
The Model Y went on sale in 2020. It shares a platform with the Model 3, which launched in 2017. The Model S and X are built on an older platform. Tesla’s next model, the Cybertruck pickup, is expected to go on sale in limited numbers this year.
First-quarter registrations for the Model 3, Tesla’s least expensive model, rose 11 percent to 52,885 vehicles, Experian said. The base Model 3 saw a price reduction from $48,440 with shipping to $44,630, according to Tesla’s order page. The base Model 3 qualifies for a $3,750 tax incentive.
Tesla’s flagship vehicles, the Model S and Model X, posted mixed first-quarter numbers. Registrations for the Model S fell 71 percent to 2,636 vehicles, while the Model X rose 34 percent to 6,545 vehicles compared with a year earlier.
In its first-quarter earnings report, Tesla suggested that Model S deliveries fell in part because vehicles were in transit from its California factory to global markets.
The automaker cut the price of the Model S from $106,440 with shipping to $91,630 over the course of the first quarter, while the Model X fell from $122,440 at the beginning of the year to $101,630 by the end of March. Both are too expensive to qualify for federal EV tax incentives.
