Elon Musk Calls Tesla's Prices "Embarrassing," Blames Inflation

Tesla has raised its prices many times this year, and Musk hopes to end the increases and maybe lower prices going forward.

Tesla Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Jul 22, 2022 at 9:07am ET

Add InsideEVs as a preferred source in Google

Comment

It seems every time we get Tesla's new pricing situated on our site, the automaker raises prices yet again. It has almost become comical how many times the electric automaker has raised its prices just this year alone. CEO Elon Musk agrees, admitting that Tesla's prices are at embarrassing levels.

The automotive market, much like many other markets right now, has been dealing with chaos since not long after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic is arguably to blame for most of the issues still today, the specific concerns are surrounding supply chain constraints and a lack of inventory.

Musk points to supply chain and production obstacles and inflation for the rising prices. He said during the Q2 2022 earnings conference call via Automotive News:

"We've raised our prices quite a few times. They're frankly at embarrassing levels. But we've also had a lot of supply chain and production shocks and we've got crazy inflation."

The CEO did add that it seems inflation may ease up. If that happens, Tesla will be able to avoid further price hikes, and could eventually begin to bring its prices back down. Musk continued, warning that his words should be taken with a grain of salt:

"I think inflation will decline towards the end of the year. I'm hopeful — and this is not a promise — but I'm hopeful at some point we can reduce prices a little bit."

The CEO reiterated that Tesla doesn't have a demand problem, but rather, the issue is production. He said Tesla is doing everything it can to make delivery times shorter, not longer.

If Tesla reduced its prices, more people would order vehicles, and that would just make the situation worse. Musk has made the same comments about why Tesla hasn't yet brought the Cybertruck to market, and why it's not focusing on the affordable compact car. Tesla can't even fill the orders it has in a timely fashion, so adding models would just push people's orders back further.

Check Out These Related Tesla Articles:

Tesla Cybertruck, Future Models To Get More Production Improvements

Elon Musk Revealed When Tesla Might Lower Car Prices

What do you think?

View

Comments

The good news is that Tesla just opened two new factories, it's expanding in China, it may try to expand further at Fremont, and future Gigafactories are almost certainly in the cards. Once everything levels out from the aftermath of the pandemic, and all of Tesla's factories are cranking out cars at full capacity, the situation is likely to improve.

Musk did confirm on the call that the Cybertruck is still coming in 2023, so that's at least somewhat promising. However, he's known for his overly optimistic timelines, so we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out.

Source: Automotive News

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Insideevs.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The InsideEVs team

Share this Story

GO TO COMMENTS

(

)

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@insideevs.com

View all comments ( )

Trending

Lucid's $50,000 Tesla Model Y Rival Is Getting Closer To Production. Here's The Latest

Tesla Is Squeezing More Money Out Of The Cybertruck Before It Dies

This BMW i3 Drove 3,658 Miles. It Needed Less Than 3 Hours Of Charging

Rivian's New Robots Will Initially Handle 20% Of Factory Tasks. The Goal Is 80%, CEO Says