In what is now beginning to feel less like a pricing strategy and more like a seasonal sale that never quite ends, Tesla has once again trimmed the fat off its electric vehicle sticker prices, offering potential buyers a slightly less shocking number when they click “checkout.”
The latest bout of price reductions applies to the company’s best-known models, the Model S and Model X, both of which had already undergone previous discounts earlier in the year. CEO Elon Musk, never shy of a headline or a tweet with unpredictable capitalization, has remained mum on this particular price cut, perhaps due to the growing suspicion that Tesla’s pricing model is now secretly being handled by a roulette wheel.
The Model S now starts at $84,990, which is $5,000 less than it cost just a few heartbeats ago in EV market time, and the Model X has been lowered to $94,990, proving once and for all that in Tesla’s world, numbers are flexible and time is a flat circle.
Investors, who had just finished recalibrating their spreadsheets after the last price alteration, responded with slightly less euphoria than before, perhaps suspecting that price tags on Teslas have become as stable as Musk’s Twitter account.
Some analysts have suggested that these continual cuts may be less about generosity and more about inventory levels that are beginning to resemble a warehouse sale rather than a sleek production pipeline. As competitors roll out their own EV offerings with slightly less drama and slightly more consistency, Tesla might be finding it harder these days to rely solely on brand loyalty and the occasional flamethrower launch.
Still, for consumers on the fence about switching to electric, these reductions bring them closer to affording a Tesla, or at the very least closer to affording heated seats.
“In the short term, lower prices could boost sales volume. In the long run, they raise questions about Tesla’s margins and pricing power,” said Sam Abuelsamid, a principal analyst at Guidehouse Insights, who presumably owns a calculator and a sturdy sense of irony.
As the dust settles on yet another round of price tweaks, the auto industry watches closely, wondering if next month’s pricing will come with complimentary cup holders or perhaps a free trial of stability.
Buyers waiting for the bottom may want to set an alert or three.