Tesla slashes prices amid slumping sales

Tesla dropped the prices of its vehicles globally Friday, as the largest electric vehicle manufacturer faces declining sales. 

The prices of the Model X, Model Y and Model S — three of its four best-selling vehicles — were each reduced by $2000, days after the company recorded below-anticipated delivery figures for the first quarter of 2024.

Prices for the Model 3, its standard sedan, stayed put. The small SUV Model Y is the company’s best-selling car and the most popular electric vehicle in the country.

When accounting for federal tax credits and estimated gas savings, a Model Y now starts at just under $30,000, the automaker announced, adding that “affordability is key to our mission.”

The price cut adds to disappointing news for the company, after Reuters reported that Tesla scrapped plans for a value-focused Model 2 priced at about $25,000 and after owner Elon Musk postponed a trip to India where he was expected to announce the automaker’s entry in the South Asian market.

The company also announced layoffs last week, cutting 10 percent of its staff, about 14,000 employees.

“There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done,” Musk said in a memo announcing the layoffs. “This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle.”

Tesla stock has plummeted in recent weeks, falling 40 percent since the start of the year. The stock, which fell below $150 per share on Friday, is now valued at just under half of what it was at the company’s peak last July.

The company is expected to announce its full quarterly earnings Tuesday, with the sales data last week marking its first year-over-year quarterly decline in sales in four years.