Tesla cuts prices globally after Cybertruck recall and stock downturn

Price cuts come days after Elon Musk laid off 10 per cent of EV maker’s global workforce

Tesla has slashed the prices of several of its car models in the US, China, and Germany following a mass recall of its Cybertruck and the company’s stocks dropping below $150 a share.

The electric vehicle maker cut the prices of its most popular Model Y as well as Model X and Model S in the US, but retained the prices of Model 3 and the Cybertruck.

The company also slashed the price of its full self-driving driver assistant software to $8,000 from $12,000 in the US.

The starting price of the revamped Model 3 in China was cut by $1,930 (14,000 yuan) to $32,000 (231,900 yuan), Reuters reported.

In Germany, the price of the Model 3 rear-wheel-drive was slashed to $43,670.75 (40,990 euros) from about $45,838 (42,990 euros).

The price reduction came after Tesla’s stock dropped below $150 per share on Friday and wiped out the company’s gains over the past year.

Similar price cuts were effected in several other European countries as well as in the Middle East and Africa.

“Tesla prices must change frequently in order to match production with demand,” the company’s chief Elon Musk said on X.

Tesla’s stock price has dropped about 40 per cent this year as the company faces falling sales and increased competition in the EV sector.

Just days earlier, Mr Musk cut about 14,000 Tesla jobs – nearly 10 per cent of the EV giant’s global workforce – highlighting the challenges the firm was facing.

“There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done. This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle,” Mr Musk told his staff in a memo last week.

The EV firm also said it was recalling nearly 4,000 of its Cybertrucks after discovering the accelerator pedal can get stuck, meaning drivers may get trapped accelerating, which increases the risk of crashes, according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recent price cuts could be a way to entice more buyers to purchase Tesla cars amid the company’s falling sales and increased competition.