Prices for Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y vehicles have been on the rise just recently. In May the electric-car company bumped up prices for the fifth time in several months, but the company has remained silent about what’s behind the increases. Until now, that is.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet on Monday, May 31, that the hikes are due to “major supply chain pressure industry-wide,” adding, “Raw materials especially.”
In a call with investors in April, Musk said a chip shortage had been causing problems for the company — as it has for automakers globally — though he claimed at the time that Tesla was “mostly out of that particular problem.”
The recent price rises have seen, for example, the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus increase from $39,490 to $39,990 and the Model 3 Long Range AWD increase from $48,490 to $48,990. But keep in mind that these rises show only the most recent hike, meaning that, for example, the spate of recent increases has seen the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, Tesla’s best-priced car, rise by $3,000 in the space of just three months. Tesla’s Model Y Long Range AWD has also seen a recent $500 increase, taking it to $51,990.
Musk’s tweet came in response to a post from an apparently disgruntled observer who said, “I really don’t like the direction Tesla is going raising prices of vehicles but removing features like lumbar for the Model Y.”
Adjustable lumbar support in seats can help increase comfort, especially on longer journeys. but in recent days it emerged that Tesla has removed the feature from the passenger seat on Model 3 and Model Y.
Discussing the issue, Musk confirmed in the same tweet that the feature, which gently inflates or deflates the seat, was removed from the front passenger seat of the Model 3 and Model Y because it was rarely used. “Logs showed almost no usage. Not worth cost/mass for everyone when almost never used,” Musk said.
The price hikes will of course come as an annoyance to those looking to get a new Tesla vehicle, especially for anyone who’s been carefully budgeting for the pricey purchase. And who’s to say there won’t be more in the coming months? Whether the company plans to drop prices once supply chain issues are fully ironed out remains to be seen.
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