Tesla Hikes Its Car Prices By Thousands Of Dollars

Electric car maker Tesla is hiking the prices of its vehicles in the U.S. amid rising raw materials and logistics costs. 

The price of the startup's Model Y long-range car is listed for $65,990 on Tesla's website, up from $62,990, Reuters first reported. Tesla also raised the price of its Model 3, Model X and Model S vehicles. 

The Model 3 Long Range got a $2,500 price increase, going from $54,490 to $57,990, according to Electrek, a website that tracks electric cars. Tesla upped the price of its Model S Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive Long Range vehicle by $5,000 to $104,990. The Model X now costs $120,990. 

Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 

The company did not say what's behind the price hikes, but inflation is soaring and the cost of raw materials used to make cars, including aluminum, has added to automakers' costs. Earlier this month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he wanted to cut 10% of his workforce, citing a "super bad feeling" about the U.S. economy. 

Consumers are struggling to get their hands on both new and used cars at any price as rising demand has outstripped supplies, which have been affected as a shortage of semiconductors and other key vehicle components hampers auto manufacturing. 

Prices for new cars jumped 12.6% in May, according to the government inflation data. Meanwhile, the cost of used cars and trucks jumped even higher, surging 16.1% last month. The average purchase price for a new car last month was $721 above the average list price of $45,914, according to Edmunds. By comparison, in December 2019 just before the pandemic the average discount on a new vehicle was $3,027.

First published on June 16, 2022 / 12:29 PM

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