Last year, with CEO Elon Musk prioritizing sales over profits, Tesla slashed prices in the U.S. Of course, it didn’t happen all at once. It felt like every few weeks the price of a new Tesla was changing yet again. And while the pricing changes may have upset some buyers whose Teslas’ values dropped dramatically, it did lead to better sales. Now, as Automotive News reports, Tesla is trying that same approach in Germany.
Both the Model Y Long Range and Model Y Performance are now €5,000 cheaper, bringing their prices down nine percent to €49,990 and eight percent €55,990 respectively. The rear-wheel drive Model Y now costs €42,990, which works out to a discount of €1,900 or 4.2 percent.
With 45,800 registrations, the Tesla Model Y was reportedly the best-selling electric vehicle in Germany last year. However, Volkswagen beat Tesla out to become the top-selling brand for EVs, and even the Model Y’s sales figures don’t tell the whole story. Sales have been on the decline every quarter since the fourth quarter of last year. Having more EV options may be one explanation for that trend, but we also can’t imagine that Musk’s anti-Semitism is helping the situation.
Still, Tesla isn’t the only automaker cutting prices in Germany. Both Volkswagen and BYD are doing the same. That said, Tesla’s sales will likely continue to suffer this quarter, as the shipping crisis in the Red Sea led Tesla to announce plans to temporarily shut down a factory near Berlin later this month. How big of an impact that shutdown will have on sales remains to be seen, but it’s still never good. If Tesla has a large enough supply of Model Ys already built, though, pausing production for a few weeks may not be an issue.
