Tesla has implemented another price increase (its third in about a month), but this time it only affects Model 3 vehicles with nickel-based battery packs.
In 2021, all Tesla vehicles saw gradual price increases throughout the entire lineup, which CEO Elon Musk blamed on supply chain pressure – though it’s fair to note that Tesla’s gross margin also improved significantly during that time.
Tesla took a break with price increases early in 2022, but Musk announced on Twitter in early March that both Tesla and SpaceX were seeing significant inflation and indicated that price increases were likely coming.
The automaker started out with a $1,000 increase for all of the vehicles equipped with long-range battery packs, which use nickel-based chemistry and the price of nickel increased considerably amid the conflict in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, which is one of the world’s largest producer of nickel.
Tesla followed up with more significant price increases throughout the entire lineup in mid-March.
Now a few weeks later, Tesla again updated its online configurator to increase prices, but this time it is only affecting a few trims of the Model 3:
Tesla increased the price of the Model 3 Long Range from $54,490 to $55,990.
The automaker also increased the price of the Model 3 Performance version from $61,990 to $62,990.
The base version of the Model 3, the Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive, stayed the same price at $46,990.
Tesla only increased the price of the Model 3 vehicles equipped with nickel-based batteries as the Model 3 Rear-Wheel-Drive is equipped with iron-based (LFP) battery cells.
As we previously reported, the price of nickel increased 62% in the first few months of the year.
The Model 3, unlike Tesla’s other models, is still available for order in the US with somewhat reasonable delivery timelines with still some openings for deliveries in June and July depending on the trim and options.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
