THE Tesla spent the weekend reducing them prices of its models in China, Europe and the US amid falling sales and a glut of inventories.
Late on Saturday, the company led by Elon Musk it also cut the price of its driver-assistance software it calls Full Self-Driving, or FSD, by a third to $8,000 in the US.
The pursuit of fully autonomous vehicles has long been key to Tesla’s high valuation. In recent weeks, Tesla has released new versions of its FSD software, and Musk has promised to unveil a special robot taxi on August 8.
Tesla’s website states that customers will receive a 30-day trial of FSD with the purchase of a new vehicle. The features currently enabled “require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous,” according to the company.
Earlier in the weekend, Tesla cut prices in China and the US, its two main markets, as well as in Europe after disappointing first-quarter sales helped swell inventories.
In China, Tesla has cut prices across its range, with the facelifted Model 3 dropping to 231,900 yuan ($32,000) from 245,900 yuan previously. The Model Y has been reduced to 249,900 yuan – or about $34,500 – from 263,900 yuan.
In the US, the cheapest version of the Model Y now costs $42,990, bringing the sport utility vehicle’s starting price back to its lowest ever. Tesla also discounted the two other most expensive versions of the Model Y by $2,000 and dropped the price of the Model X to its lowest price ever.
Wild week
The cuts cap a “wild” week for the Austin-based automaker. It began when Musk announced in a memo to the company’s more than 140,000 employees that he was cutting its workforce by more than 10% globally. Two top executives also left.
On Wednesday, Tesla said in its proxy statement that it will ask shareholders to vote again on a $56 billion compensation package for Musk that was struck down by a Delaware court in January.
And on Friday, the company recalled nearly 3,900 Cybertrucks to repair or replace accelerator pedals that can detach and cause the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally, increasing the risk of a crash.
Musk also postponed a planned trip to India, where he was expected to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he had to attend to “heavy commitments” at Tesla.
Tomorrow the announcement for the first quarter of 2024
Tesla reports first-quarter earnings on April 23. Its stock has fallen more than 40% this year amid concern over falling sales, intense competition in China and Musk’s risky plans.
The automaker reported its first annual sales decline since the early days of the pandemic, delivering 386,810 vehicles in the first quarter, well below analysts’ estimates.
In China, Tesla’s market share shrank to about 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, from 10.5 percent in the first three months of the year, according to data from the China Passenger Automobile Association.
The automaker recently reduced production schedules at its Shanghai plant late last month. Shipments from its Shanghai factory – which makes electric vehicles for China and for export to other parts of Asia, Europe and Canada – fell in the first two months from a year earlier, even as overall sales of passenger vehicles in China increased.
Source: Bloomberg
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