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Tesla Model Y prices rose this week.
Courtesy of Tesla
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(ticker: TSLA) has raised prices again for its Model Y crossover, further reversing the trend of this year’s dramatic EV price cuts. This is another signal to car buyers that Tesla will keep prices stable. And that should help ease investor concerns about demand, margins and competition.
So far, investors like the move. Tesla stock rose 2.3% in premarket trading to $264.55, while
S&P500
And
Nasdaq Compound
futures contracts rose 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. The higher close on Wednesday would be the 14th consecutive rise for the shares.
The price of a Tesla Model Y, long-range version, is $50,490, before applying a $7,500 federal tax credit, according to the automaker’s website Wednesday. That’s up $250 this week from the Model Y previously priced at $50,240, based on a Tesla site archive from Monday.
The price of a long-range Model Y is down $16,000 from 2022 highs, down about 25%. Prices for the rest of Tesla’s vehicle lineup have also fallen this year, weighing on investor sentiment.
As investors and Wall Street scrutinized prices, CEO Elon Musk pointed out in April that other automakers frequently adjust prices. It’s not as transparent to car buyers due to traditional dealership networks. Tesla is its own dealer network.
“Our finger on the pulse is real-time and has no latency…other automakers have a lot of latency in their data,” Musk said on Tesla’s first-quarter earnings conference call, adding that Tesla quickly adjusts the price in response to the order. patterns.
Now the price trend has started to reverse. This week’s price move is another small increase, following similar sized bumps to a few patterns last month. Besides being a signal for buyers not to wait, it is also a sign for investors that demand may be improving.
Investors will get more tangible information on demand in a few weeks when the electric vehicle maker releases second-quarter delivery numbers. Wall Street expects around 445,000 units, a record, and up from around 423,000 delivered in the first quarter. Estimates have dropped by a few thousand units over the past two months.
Beating estimates will be important for the stock, which has gained more than 25% so far in June and is up around 110% so far this year.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com and Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com