Tesla knocked roughly a third off the price of its “Full Self Driving” system — which can’t drive itself and so drivers must remain alert and be ready to intervene — to $8,000 from $12,000, according to the company website.
Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk promised in 2019 that there would be a fleet of robotaxis on the road in 2020, but the promise has yet to materialize, and the system still has to be supervised by humans.
The cuts, which occurred on Saturday, follow Tesla’s moves to slash $2,000 off the prices of three of its five models in the United States late Friday. That’s the latest evidence of the challenges facing the electric vehicle maker.
Tesla knocked $2,000 off the prices of three of its five models in the United States late Friday. The company cut the prices of the Model Y, a small SUV which is Tesla’s most popular model and the top-selling electric vehicle in the U.S., and also of the Models X and S, its older and more expensive models. Prices for the Model 3 sedan and the Cybertruck stayed the same.
The cuts reduced the starting price for a Model Y to $42,990 and to $72,990 for a Model S and $77,990 for a Model X.
The move came the day after Tesla’s stock tumbled below $150 per share, eliminating all gains made over the past year. The Austin, Texas, company’s stock price has dropped about 40% so far this year amid falling sales and increased competition. Discounted sticker prices are a way to try to entice more car buyers.
Industry analysts have been waiting for Tesla to introduce a small electric vehicle that would cost around $25,000, the Model 2. Media reports this month that Musk planned to scrap the project created more uncertainty over the company’s direction, although Musk called them untrue.
The price cuts ended a long workweek at Tesla, which announced Monday that it was cutting 10% of its staff globally, about 14,000 jobs. The company also said it was recalling nearly 4,000 of its 2024 Cybertrucks after discovering the accelerator pedal can get stuck, potentially causing the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally and increase the risk of a crash.
On Saturday, Musk confirmed he had postponed a planned weekend trip to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing “very heavy Tesla obligations.” He said on X that he looked forward to rescheduling the visit for later this year.