Tesla’s Model 3 and Y SUV now cost a little less

Tesla trimmed prices for its cheapest Model 3 and Model Y while raising prices for the Performance versions, according to the electric car-maker’s website.

The Model 3 Standard Range Plus is now $36,990, down from $37,900, before any state incentives or gas savings. The Model Y Standard Range now costs $39,990.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has regularly lamented that Tesla’s cars are too expensive, and the company has a long history of enacting price cuts and incentives to drive deliveries during critical quarters. At the “Battery Day” event last fall, Musk said the company was working on a $25,000 car.

The Performance variant of the Model 3 rose to $55,990 from $54,990, while the price of the Performance variant of the Model Y was increased to $60,990 from $59,990, the website shows. Tesla also lowered prices in Japan.

“Adjustments may reflect mix strategy,” analyst Dan Levy of Credit Suisse said in a note to clients. “We believe Tesla strategy is to cut price (funded by cost cuts) to spur volume increase.”

Tesla delivered nearly half a million vehicles in 2020 but has warned that deliveries in 2021 will be weighted toward the second half of the year.