Tesla Inc. Cut prices of its best-selling Model Y, as well as the Model S and X, by $2,000 after disappointing first-quarter sales contributed to swelling inventory.
The cheapest version of the Model Y is now $42,990 in the US, returning the sport utility vehicle’s starting price to the lowest it’s been. Tesla also discounted the two other more expensive versions of the Model Y by $2,000, and dropped the price of the Model X to its lowest yet.
The cuts cap a wild week for the Austin-based automaker, even by Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s standards. Early Sunday, Musk announced in a memo to the company’s more than 140,000 employees that he was reducing headcount by more than 10% globally. Two top executives also left.
On Wednesday, Tesla said in its proxy statement that it will ask shareholders to vote again on a $56 billion compensation package for Musk that was voided by a Delaware court in January.
And on Friday, the company recalled almost 3,900 Cybertruck pickups to fix or replace accelerator pedals that can dislodge and cause the vehicle to unintentionally accelerate, increasing risk of a crash.
Tesla reports first-quarter earnings on April 23. Its stock is down more than 40% this year on concern about slumping sales, intensifying competition in China and Musk’s risky plan to go “balls to the wall” on autonomy.
The automaker reported its first year-over-year sales drop since the early days of the pandemic, delivering 386,810 vehicles in the first quarter, well short of analyst estimates.