Tesla raises the Model Y LR price by US$10,000 in a year, its EV orders still double on high gas prices
According to research firm CICC, nickel's stratospheric prices reached after one of its main producers - Russia - went out of commission, will result in the equivalent of US$1580 added to the cost of a typical battery pack for each new electric vehicle. Armed with similar analysis, Tesla went and raised the prices of its Model Y Long Range and Model Y Performance, as well as the Model 3 Long Range models.
The base prices for these versions with Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum (NCA) batteries are now US$59,990, US$64,990, and US$51,990, respectively, or $1000 more than they were just the other day. Granted, The Model 3 and Model Y price hike is less than what CICC predicted based on the increased NCA battery production costs, yet the Model Y Long Range price alone went up by US$10,000 in the span of 12 months.
Separately, if you want an earlier - May instead of September - delivery of the Model Y, you now have to add Tesla's US$12,000 Full Self-Driving Beta option. Despite all those pricing shocks, Tesla's electric vehicles are selling like hot cakes in the U.S. Areas with the highest gas prices have seen the orders for Tesla cars double in the span of a week, report insiders, as people are increasingly thinking about alternatives to gas-guzzlers. Still, Tesla is not immune to the supply chain woes affecting each and every carmaker these days so the influx of new orders is unlikely to affect its delivery times in any kind of a positive manner.