Hundreds of new Tesla car owners are currently mad at the electric auto company and CEO Elon Musk for recently slashing the prices of Tesla models. With prices suddenly slashed by as much as $20,500 after purchasing their units, some customers said they feel duped and would have waited a bit if they knew of the coming price drop.
In September last year, 32-year-old Marianne Simmons bought her second Tesla car, a high-performance Model Y for $77,000, but learned last week that the model now costs $64,000 – a price slash of $13,000 – she said she felt ripped and will no longer patronize Tesla cars. She swore to go for alternatives such as Lucid or Rivian.
“I feel like I got duped,” Simmons said. “I feel like a got taken advantage of as a consumer. Right off the bat, I’m out $13,306. It’s such a large reduction that it’s going to affect a lot of people who just bought a vehicle. I would not buy a Tesla again. That’s saying a lot to me. I was a huge Tesla fan girl. I’d go with a competitor like Lucid or Rivian.”
Given that the sales of Tesla cars dropped dramatically in recent months, Musk slashed the prices of models by more than 20% to drive up sales. It must, however, be noted that Tesla raised the prices of its cars steadily over the last two years in the US and Europe before the recent price crash. The Model 3 RWD has its price slashed from $46,990 to $43,990 while the 5-seat Model Y Long Range got its price dropped from $65,990 to $52,990.
Given the price slash, the resale value of Tesla cars will drop and customers will lose out on their investments. The price of used Tesla cars will also take a serious hit and most recent buyers will wish they had leased it, said Ivan Drury from auto website Edmunds. “For any existing owner, it’s a kick to the teeth,” Drury said. “Anyone who bought a Tesla recently will feel an immediate impact, and wish they leased it.”
To underscore this point, a TV producer in Los Angeles, Austin Flack, said he listed to sell his 2018 Model 3 Tesla car with Full Self-Driving Beta software package for sale in December for $51,000. He said he further reduced the price to $36,000 before the end of the year when he learned that Tesla unloaded some incentives, but will have to further reduce the resale price to $30,000 after learning of the current price slash from the EV automaker.
Many recent Tesla customers now gnash their teeth in grief after learning of the price cuts and wished they had waited a little bit more before placing their orders.