- Tesla once again cut prices Sunday night on its Model S sedan and Model X crossover — its second time doing so this year.
- The Model S is now $5,000 less expensive, while the Model X sees an even greater $10,000 price drop.
- Starting prices kick off at $89,990 for the dual-motor, all-wheel drive Model S and $99,990 for the Model X.
- CEO Elon Musk noted demand for the company’s cars as “indistinguishable from infinite”.
Tesla’s ‘Plaid’ models now cost up to $29,000 less than they did earlier this year.
Welcome to March, where Tesla Inc. and the rest of an industry face down another crunch to boost sales volumes and generate more buzz around their brands. To that end, the EV automaker once again cut prices Sunday night, supplementing a dramatic price drop in early January.
Model X customers will benefit most, as this latest shave brings the entry-level dual-motor, all-wheel drive model down by $10,000, to $99,990. The Model S sedan gets a $5,000 trim off its asking price, so it now starts at $89,990.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk cited immense demand and a relative lack of affordability during the company’s investor day on March 1. It’s working on tackling both issues in its next-generation cars by improving manufacturing efficiency and cutting overhead, largely by reducing the necessary labor to build its vehicles.
“We found that even small changes in the price have a big effect on demand, very big,” he said during the investor day event.
Of course, Tesla’s pricing is a constantly moving target.
Anyone in the market for a Tesla knows by now (and if you don’t, you should) that these prices are always subject to change in either direction. That said, this year’s shuffling makes all Tesla models dramatically more affordable, from the Model 3 all the way up to the Model S/Model X Plaid. At $109,990, the Plaid models are now $26,000 to $29,000 cheaper than they were just in January 2023.
While it is working on its next-gen models, price is the area where Tesla aims to compete with its current cars to drive up sales against a growing range of competition. Not only that, but it’s also maneuvered the smaller Model 3 and Model Y to fall within the MSRP cap mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Without the tax credit to push sales of its larger cars, will this reduction funnel more buyers into the Model S or Model X? We’ll take a closer look at volumes when quarterly delivery numbers are available in April.
