Tesla has pivoted from rapid-fire price-cutting this time a year ago to heavily discounting cars now piling up in inventory. The automaker offers consumers two ways to buy new vehicles online: to place custom orders, selecting the vehicle type, paint colour, wheels and other options, or to peruse pages where Tesla lists the cars it has in inventory.
While Tesla started charging USD 1,000 more to custom order its best-selling vehicle, the Model Y, at the beginning of the month in the US, it’s offering much bigger markdowns on the SUVs it has in inventory. The rear-wheel drive version, for example, can be had for USD 4,600 off, while long-range and performance Model Ys are discounted by at least USD 5,000.
Tesla is offering the deals after producing 46,561 more vehicles than it delivered in the first quarter, adding more cars to inventory than ever before. The firm blamed its volume decline on changing over its California plant to make the upgraded Model 3 sedan and shutdowns of its factory in Germany. Tesla’s stock has dropped 31% this year, the second-worst showing on the S&P 500 Index.
