Tesla’s offering a rare year-end sale on its most popular models as EV affordability and demand dwindle
Clear out the garage… Tesla’s offering a rare year-end sale on its most popular cars as it looks to supercharge demand. Starting this week, the EV icon’s offering $7.5K off Model 3 and Model Y orders delivered in the US by the end of the month. FYI: those are Tesla’s least pricey cars, and they typically make up the majority of deliveries. The discount is double the $3,750 credit Tesla offered earlier this month (and includes 10K miles of free supercharging). Plus:
- Charged up: The discount comes days after the Treasury Department delayed restrictions on EV incentives until March, so Teslas can qualify for the full $7.5K credits until then.
- Sold out: Despite Tesla's history of rushing year-end deliveries to meet targets, discounts are rare for the carmaker (and may not be enough to drive sales).
Tesla’s no good, very bad year… Shares of Tesla are down 60%+ this year and are on pace for their worst-ever annual performance. In October, Tesla said it would miss its delivery goals for the year as slowing growth and supply-chain disruptions hit drop-offs. Meanwhile, some customers have started to cancel or delay deliveries until the EV credits kick in next year. It’s not the only speed bump:
- Investors say: CEO Elon Musk's controversial leadership over at Twitter could be a risk to Tesla’s brand (and sales).
- Elon says: Tesla demand is still hot, and experts say the stock's troubles are due to more people moving their $$ out of equities and into savings accounts.
Lower prices can raise the stakes… Since more people have paid top dollar for new cars during the car shortage, most automakers haven't had to offer discounts. While promos could give Tesla a last-minute boost, it could also be a sign that demand isn’t quite as strong as expected. That’s bad timing with competition heating up. Some analysts say that by 2025 Tesla's share of the EV market could drop to under 20%.