After lowering U.S. vehicle pricing four times this year, Tesla abruptly increased the price of its more costly, slower-selling models.
The price increase could be an attempt to win back investors who sold off their Tesla stock on Thursday after profits and profit margins declined due to prior price reductions.
The Austin, Texas-based firm raised the costs of all four Model S and X models from 2.4% to 2.9% by adding $2,500 to each model.
According to Tesla’s website early on Friday, the introductory price for the X is now $97,490, while the lowest-priced Model S now starts at $87,490.
Due to their higher sticker prices, neither is qualified for the $7,500 electric car tax credit the US government offers.
After being reduced earlier this week, the costs of the company’s best-selling Model Y compact SUV and Model 3 small car stayed the same.
After CEO Elon Musk stated that Tesla would sacrifice profit margins to increase sales, Tesla’s stock price fell by about 10% on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Tesla announced first-quarter net income down 24% from the same period last year, and operational profit margins falling from 19.2% to 11.4%.
The stock traded in flat territory early on Friday.
The price hikes coincide strangely with a drop in global sales of the old Model X large SUV and Model S big sedan of roughly 38% to 10,695 units in the first quarter.
This week, there has been a lot of pressure on the shares of every manufacturer of electric vehicles. Rivian, Lucid, and Lordstown Motors, three companies, all lost roughly 10% of their value this week, while Tesla shares are down 12.4%.
Nio sank 12% for the week, Fisker lost 14%, and Nikola nearly 8%.
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