Tesla Hits Shoppers With Another Price Hike
Tesla raised prices in early March on its most affordable Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV by $1,000, but as it turns out, that was just the appetizer. The California automaker has now dished out the main course of heftier price hikes across its entire electric vehicle lineup. The Model 3 is up another $2,000-$3,000; the Model Y increases by $3,000; the Model S sedan jumps $5,000-$6,000; and the price tag for the top-tier Model X SUV is up $10,000-$12,500.
Related: Tesla Model 3 and Model Y Prices Rise Again; Each Up $1,000
Model 3
The Model 3’s base rear-wheel-drive trim was spared in the last batch of price increases, but not this round. The price of admission for the most affordable Tesla is up by $2,000, or 4%; it now starts at $48,190 (all prices include a destination fee of $1,200).
Upgrading to the Long Range model increases the sedan’s range to an EPA-rated 358 miles, versus the base trim’s 272 miles, and adds a second motor for all-wheel drive. The Model 3 Long Range now starts at $55,690 — that’s up $2,500, or 5% from last week. The top-tier Performance model now starts at $63,190 — a $3,000 jump.
Model Y
Available only with dual-motor AWD, the Model Y SUV’s price also climbs for the second time in less than a week. The Long Range version starts at $64,190, while the Performance variant starts at $69,190; both prices increase by $3,000 from the previous week. The Long Range model offers 330 miles of electric range according to the EPA, while the Performance model has a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph, per Tesla’s estimates.
Model S
With a longer, EPA-estimated range of 405 miles and quicker, Tesla-estimated 0-60 time of 3.1 seconds, the base Model S sedan sees a similar-percentage price increase to the smaller vehicles. It’s now $5,000 more expensive, with a starting price of $101,190. The Model S Plaid has a Tesla-estimated 200 mph top speed and can sprint from 0-60 in less than 2 seconds, according to the automaker, but the high-performance model’s price tag is hiked extra, too, with a $6,000 bump and new starting price of $137,190.
Model X
The Model X SUV gets the largest hike to its starting price at a whopping $10,000 and now starts at $116,190. The range-topping Model X Plaid starts at $140,190, which is up 10% from the week prior. The Model X’s base trim gets an EPA-rated 348 miles of range and the Plaid trim offers a Tesla-estimated 2.5-second 0-60 mph time and top speed of 163 mph.
What’s Driving Up Costs?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk called out increasing raw materials costs and logistics prices in a March 13 tweet, which might explain the blanket price increases across all Teslas.
Tesla is no stranger to frequent price hikes: The automaker raised Model 3 and Model Y prices about a dozen times in 2021, according to Reuters. But, the culmination of supply chain disruptions and the threat of raw materials shortages due to the war in Ukraine is likely to blame for the most recent upswings; the region is a major supplier of nickel ore used in lithium-ion batteries that power EVs.
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