Tesla cuts prices in China, Germany and around globe after US cuts
BEIJING/FRANKFURT听–听罢别蝉濒补听has cut prices in a number of its major markets, including China and Germany,听蹿辞濒濒辞飞颈苍驳听聽in the United States, as it grapples with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles (EVs), especially against Chinese EVs.
The price cuts come after聽Tesla, led by its billionaire CEO Elon Musk,聽reported this month that its聽聽in the first quarter fell for the first time in nearly four years.
“Tesla prices must change frequently in order to match production with demand,” Mr. Musk 聽on Sunday.
Tesla, the EV market leader, ignited an EV price war over a year ago by aggressively cutting prices at the expense of profit margins.
Tesla cut the starting price of the revamped Model 3 in China by 14,000 yuan ($1,930) to 231,900 yuan ($32,000), its official website showed on Sunday.
In Germany, the price of聽迟丑别听Model 3聽rear-wheel-诲谤颈惫别听was trimmed to聽40,990 euros ($43,670.75) from 42,990 euros, where the price聽丑补诲听been since February.
There were also price cuts in many other countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a Tesla spokesperson said.
US prices of 迟丑别听Model Y, Model X and Model S vehicles聽were cut by聽$2,000 on Friday. On Saturday聽罢别蝉濒补听聽of its Full Self-Driving driver assistant software to $8,000 from $12,000 in the United States.
罢别蝉濒补听has been slow to refresh its ageing models as high interest rates have sapped consumer appetite for big-ticket items, while rivals in China, the world’s largest auto market, are rolling out cheaper models.
This weekend, Mr. Musk postponed a planned聽, where he was to have met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing obligations at Tesla. The trip was to have included the announcement of plans for Tesla to enter the South Asian market, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Mr. Musk said last Monday that Tesla will聽聽more than 10% of its global workforce as the automaker braces for its first annual drop in deliveries.
The announcement came after Reuters reported on April 5 that Tesla 丑补诲听 plan to develop its long-awaited affordable EV in favor of robotaxis. Mr. Musk posted that “Reuters is lying” after the report, without citing any inaccuracies. He has not spoken further about the model, leaving investors clamouring for clarity.
Tesla shares have fallen 40.8% so far this year. – Reuters
