Tesla Doles Out Free Choice Of Paint In China To Boost Sales, Asks Customers in Europe To 'Order Within 2 Mins' To Beat Upcoming Model Y Price Hike

EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA said on Saturday that the company will increase the price of its best-selling Model Y SUV on March 22nd by about 2000 euros (about $2177) in several countries in Europe.

In Europe: The price hike will be for approximately 2000 euros or its local currency equivalent, the company said, while also urging customers to take delivery soon and secure the vehicle at the current, lower price.

Whether the price hike will be for select variants of the vehicle or across is unclear.

In The U.S.: The announcement follows a similar price hike warning issued by Tesla on Friday for U.S. customers. Tesla said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the starting price on all its Model Y variants will increase by $1000 starting April 1 in America.

In China: In China, meanwhile, the company is offering a waiver on the price of paid paint options for customers looking to purchase its more premium Model S or X vehicles from existing inventory starting March 16. While gray paint is included in the price of the vehicle, customers have to pay additionally for white, blue, black, or red paint in a custom Model S or Model X. Red is priced at a whopping 25,000 yuan (about $3,473).

However, on getting a Model S or X from inventory, the customer can now get the paint cost as a discount before delivery. The offer, however, will be on until either the inventory runs out or until further notice, the company said in a Weibo post.

Why It Matters: Tesla delivered 484,507 vehicles in the last quarter of 2023. Whether the incentives and warnings of an impending price hike will help boost first-quarter deliveries beyond Q4 levels will be known when the company announces quarterly delivery numbers next month.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed 0.66% higher on Friday at $163.57. However, the stock has dipped 34.16% year-to-date, according to Benzinga Pro.

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