Tesla made a lot of headlines last week for lowering prices on all their vehicles, some by as much as 21%. But while the automaker did slash prices on their vehicles, they also increased the price for two options as well.
The first has to do with the paint options. Late in 2021 Tesla added Midnight Silver Metallic as a free paint option for the Model 3 and Model Y after some feedback from owners that there were getting to be too many white Tesla cars on the road. On Thursday Tesla reversed course and once again made Midnight Silver Metallic a paid option, leaving Pearl White Multi-Coat as the only standard (free) paint colour. Canadians opting for Midnight Silver Metallic will now have to pay an additional $1,300, while those is the US will have to pay $1,000.
The other change has to do with the Model Y. Until last week adding the third row in the electric SUV would cost an additional $4,000 in Canada or $3,000 in the US. At the same time Tesla lowered the price of the Model Y by some 21% in Canada, they also increased the 7-seat configuration to $5,300, or $4,000 in the US.
These increases certainly don’t offset the price cuts, but we felt it worthwhile to mention them as they may have gone unnoticed by a number of people.
As for the price cuts themselves, they have certainly generated a lot of discussion among Tesla fans and owners, especially among those that have taken delivery in recent weeks and even months. Unfortunately for those new owners who paid the higher price Tesla is not offering any sort of refund or incentive to compensate them for the change.
After the price decreases a spokesperson in Germany said Tesla was able to do so due to “partial normalization of cost inflation” that has wreaked havoc on all industries, not just the automotive industry, over the last few years.
