Slow Sales Mean More Tesla Discounts

Photo: Tesla

Tesla has once again cut prices of its Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover amid the electric vehicle price war we’re currently in the midst of. The move comes just days after third-quarter deliveries for the Austin, Texas-based automaker missed the goals they were expecting to hit.

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According to Reuters, the latest cuts come in an effort to bolster delivery. The automaker wants to deliver a record 476,000 vehicles in the final three months of the year. It’s a piece of a puzzle that aims to hand over 1.8 million vehicles in total this year. That’s definitely a tall order.

The standard Model 3 now starts at $38,990 – $1,250 cheaper than before. Meanwhile, Model Y long-range variants dropped to $48,480 – a $2,000 difference. That means it’s actually cheaper than the previous entry-level Model Y standard range it just killed off. Reuters reports that Tesla also cut prices on its higher-end variants of both vehicles.

Overall, the outlet says that standard Model 3 prices have come down about 17 percent since the start of the year. During that same period, Model Y long-range variants have seen an over 26 percent drop in price.

The outlet says shares of the company fell slightly this morning for fears that this latest round of price drops will further cut into Tesla’s industry-leading margins, which apparently dropped to a near four-year low in the April through June quarter of this year.

Tesla hasn’t had its third-quarter earning report yet – that’s set for October 18. Reuters says that a poll of analysts suggests that Tesla will post a gross margin of 19.1 percent in the quarter. Not too shabby – and still industry-leading – but a huge drop off from the over 32 percent margin it had in the first quarter of 2022.