Firm says price rises – which won’t apply to entry-level Model 3 – will allow it to close fewer stores
Tesla will raise the price of all its cars, with the exception of the new entry-level Model 3 Standard, by ‘an average’ of 3% worldwide.
The price rises, which will come into effect on 18 March, will add around £2160 to the £72,000 starting price of a Model S, and £2400 to the cheapest Model X SUV, currently £80,200. The Model 3 has not yet gone on sale in the UK, so final pricing has yet to be decided.
Tesla says the move will allow it to keep open more of its Tesla stores than previously planned. When announcing the $35,000 (£30,355) Model 3 last week, company boss Elon Musk said achieving the long-targeted price for the entry-level variant could only be achieved by cost saving from closing a number of its stores and switching to an online-only sales model. Musk did not specify how many stores would close, or how many jobs would be lost as a result.
Tesla said it has closed around 10% of its stores in areas of low footfall, but said a small number of those would now be reopened. It added that the future of another 20% of locations will be under review in the next few months.
Despite keeping more stores open, Tesla will still use an online only sales model worldwide, with all car sold with a seven-day or 1000-mile return policy. Traditional test drives will still be available at stores, which the firm said will also keep a small stock of cars for customers who wish to drive one away immediately.
Read more
Entry-level Tesla Model 3 goes on sale in US for $35,000
New Tesla supercharger can give 1000 miles of charge per hour
Source: Autocar
