It is as often in a tweet that Elon Musk spoke about a possible price drop for Tesla’s electric vehicles. An answer, which could not be clearer, which follows the question of a Korean journalist, without giving a precise date.
The boss of Tesla does not close the door to a drop in the price of his vehicles which have increased by 20 to 30% over the past two years. Responding to a journalist specializing in the field, Elon Musk specifies that the condition sine qua non is a fall in inflation.
Lower the price of Tesla vehicles
The cost of electric vehicles is undoubtedly the biggest obstacle to their adoption. Despite the implementation of state aid devices such as the electric car at 100 euros per month, everyone is still far from being able to acquire one. If the industry anticipates a reduction in costs in the medium and long term thanks to economies of scale and more affordable batteries, no significant price reduction is to be expected in the immediate future.
Add to that the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine as well as inflation, and you have a difficult cocktail to drink that does not allow manufacturers of electric vehicles to lower their costs and prices. In recent months, certain references such as the Tesla Model 3 have seen their prices increase several times.
This does not prevent Tesla from increasing its margins while having a well-filled order book over several months. A strategy that allows the company to anticipate the increase in costs caused by problems in the supply chain, in particular the shortage of semiconductors.
If inflation calms down, we can lower prices for cars
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2022
At the question “Are you planning to lower car prices after the pandemic or supply chain issues? Elon Musk replies:
“If inflation calms down, we can lower the price of cars. »
A statement that obviously does not engage the boss of Tesla insofar as inflation is determined by many macroeconomic factors. For its part, the European Union, which voted to ban the sale of thermal vehicles in 2035, will have to spend the second not to be left behind by China and the United States which have relied heavily on vehicles vehicles that many consider, along with solar and hydrogen vehicles, to be the future of the industry.