To take on competition, Tesla cuts prices by nearly $2,000 in China

Tesla has cut prices by nearly $2,000 across its models in China, after price cuts in the US, as it grapples with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles (EVs), especially against cheaper Chinese EVs.

Elon Musk’s EV maker cut the starting price of the revamped Model 3 in China by $1,930 to $32,000, its o¨cial website showed on Sunday.

Tesla made similar cuts to the Model Y starting price, now 2,49,900 yuan, the regular version of the Model S to 6,84,900 yuan and the Model S Plaid to 8,14,900 yuan. The regular Model X now costs 7,24,900 yuan and its plaid variant 8,24,900 yuan.

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The carmaker on Friday cut US prices of its Model Y,

Model X and Model S vehicles by $2,000. On Saturday, it slashed the price of its Full Self-Driving driver assistant software to $8,000 from $12,000 in the US. Tesla reported this month that its global vehicle deliveries in the first quarter fell for the first time in nearly four years, as price cuts failed to stir demand.

The EV maker has been slow to refresh its ageing models as high interest rates have sapped consumer appetite for big-ticket items, while rivals in

China, the world’s largest auto market, are rolling out cheaper models. Musk postponed a planned trip this weekend to India, where he was to have met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing obligations at Tesla. The trip was to have included the announcement of plans for Tesla to enter the South Asian market, Reuters reported on Saturday.

Musk said last Monday that Tesla will lay o® more than 10 per cent of its global workforce as the automaker is bracing for its first annual drop in deliveries. The announcement came after Reuters reported on April 5 that Tesla had scrapped its plan to develop its longawaited a®ordable EV in favour of robotaxis. Musk posted that “Reuters is lying” after the report, without citing any inaccuracies. He has not spoken further about the model, leaving investors clamouring for clarity.