After cutting the prices of American vehicles four times this year, Tesla raised the cost overnight on its most expensive, slow-selling models.
The increase could be an effort to appease investors, who dumped Tesla shares on Thursday after profits and profit margins fell due to earlier price cuts.
The Austin, Texas company added $2,500 to all four versions of the Model S and X, raising its prices from 2.4% to 2.9%.
The lowest-priced Model S now starts at $87,490, while the base price for the X is $97,490, according to Tesla’s website early Friday. Neither is eligible for the US government’s $7,500 EV tax credit because they exceed the sticker price limits.
Prices for the company’s best-selling Model Y small SUV and Model 3 small sedan were unchanged after being lowered earlier this week.
Tesla shares closed Thursday down nearly 10% after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said he would sacrifice profit margins to boost sales. On Wednesday, Tesla reported that first-quarter net income fell 24% from a year earlier and operating profit margins fell from 19.2% in the first quarter of last year to 11.4% last quarter.
In Friday trading, the stock was flat.
The price increases come at a strange time for Tesla because global sales of the aging Model X large SUV and Model S large sedan fell nearly 38% in the first quarter to 10,695.
Shares of all EV manufacturers have been under significant pressure this week. Tesla shares fell 12.4% for the week, while startups Rivian, Lucid and Lordstown Motors lost around 10% of their value. Fisker is down 14% for the week and Nio is down 12%, while Nikola is down almost 8%.
