Tesla has slightly raised the prices of its cheapest Model 3 versions, weeks before the U.S. tax credits for Tesla's electric vehicles (EVs) expire on December 31-a move suggesting that Elon Musk's EV manufacturer is not worried about demand without tax credits next year.
Tesla, which has often tweaked the pricing of its flagship EV this year, is now asking $500 more for the Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive Standard Range Plus and the Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive Long Range versions. Tesla didn't change the price of the Model 3 Performance version.
The federal income tax credits available to anyone who purchases a new Tesla Model S, Model X, or Model 3 dropped to $1,875 effective July 1, 2019, from the $3,750 tax credit until June 30. The US$1,875 tax credit is available to buyers who take delivery by December 31, 2019. After that date, Tesla's vehicles are not eligible for tax credits.
While it slightly raised prices for some Model 3 variants, the EV maker is also encouraging buyers on its website to "Take delivery by 12/31 to be eligible for the $1,875 Federal Tax Credit."
According to Electrek's Fred Lambert, the slight rise in Model 3 prices, just as the tax credits are about to end, means that Tesla is confident in its U.S. sales for the future.
Tesla's sales in the U.S. have recently dropped after the tax credits halved in July, but the models on offer from Elon Musk's EV maker are undisputedly the best-selling electric cars in America.
In October, Tesla surprised the market with an unexpected profit for the third quarter, and achieved a record number of around 97,000 deliveries globally in Q3.
In the outlook provided in the Q3 2019 update, Tesla said about 2019 global deliveries that "deliveries should increase sequentially and annually, with some expected fluctuations from seasonality. We are highly confident in exceeding 360,000 deliveries this year."
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More