By Hyunjoo Jin and Ethan Wang
BEIJING (Reuters) -Tesla has cut prices by nearly $2,000 across its models in China, after price cuts in the United States, as it grapples with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles (EVs), especially against cheaper Chinese EVs.
Elon Musk’s EV maker cut the starting price of the revamped Model 3 in China by 14,000 yuan ($1,930) to 231,900 yuan ($32,000), its official website showed on Sunday.
Tesla made similar cuts to the Model Y starting price, now 249,900 yuan, the regular version of the Model S to 684,900 yuan and the Model S Plaid to 814,900 yuan. The regular Model X now costs 724,900 yuan and its plaid variant 824,900 yuan.
The carmaker on Friday cut U.S. prices of its Model Y, Model X and Model S vehicles by $2,000. On Saturday it slashed the price of its Full Self-Driving driver assistant software to $8,000 from $12,000 in the United States.
Tesla reported this month that its global vehicle deliveries in the first quarter fell for the first time in nearly four years, as price cuts failed to stir demand.
The EV maker has been slow to refresh its ageing models as high interest rates have sapped consumer appetite for big-ticket items, while rivals in China, the world’s largest auto market, are rolling out cheaper models.
Musk postponed a planned trip this weekend to India, where he was to have met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing obligations at Tesla. The trip was to have included the announcement of plans for Tesla to enter the South Asian market, Reuters has reported on Saturday.
Musk said last Monday that Tesla will lay off more than 10% of its global workforce as the automaker is bracing for its first annual drop in deliveries.
The announcement came after Reuters reported on April 5 that Tesla had scrapped its plan to develop its long-awaited affordable EV in favour of robotaxis. Musk posted that “Reuters is lying” after the report, without citing any inaccuracies. He has not spoken further about the model, leaving investors clamouring for clarity.
Tesla shares fell 40.8% so far this year.
Since late 2022, Tesla ignited a price war as Musk pursued volume growth at the expense of margins.
($1 = 7.2403 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Ethan Wang, Bernard Orr and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Michael Perry and William Mallard)
