Tesla tries to claim massive price cuts are due to ‘partial normalization of cost inflation’

Published

2 years ago

January 13, 2023

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Tesla has commented on the new massive overnight price cuts on Model 3 and Model Y and claimed that they are due to “a partial normalization of cost inflation.”

We reported last night that Tesla implemented massive price cuts of up to $13,000 on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the US.

Similar price cuts are being reported in other markets, such as Canada and Europe.

While Tesla doesn’t have global or US press relations department to ask the company to comment on those price cuts, it still does in some markets, and a Tesla spokesperson in Germany commented on it.

The Tesla spokesperson tried to claim the price drop was due to “a partial normalization of cost inflation”:

At the end of a turbulent year with interruptions to the supply chain, we have achieved a partial normalisation of cost inflation, which gives us the confidence to pass this relief onto our customers,

This mirrors comments made by a Tesla China executive after a similar price drop in the market last week.

The price drop in some markets marks the first time Tesla has reduced prices after almost two years of gradually raising them to new all-time highs.

Electrek’s Take

I am happy to see Tesla vehicles being much more accessible, but I honestly don’t know who is buying this explanation.

Let’s be honest, Tesla is significantly slashing prices right now because it has to. It needs to increase demand to match its new production capacity.

Tesla gradually and incrementally increased prices for two years during the rise in inflation. And honestly, we already knew that inflation wasn’t the only reason. Yes, it was partly contributing to the price increases, but Tesla was also just increasing the prices because demand allowed it. That is made clear by its gross margins gradually increasing while raising those prices.

Now Tesla wants us to believe that it is basically erasing those two years of incremental price increases “due to inflation” because of a “partial normalization of cost inflation.”

I don’t think so. It has more to do with the fact that Tesla had its two biggest discrepancies between cars produced and cars delivered during the last two quarters, and now it finds itself with a lot of cars in inventory in some markets early in a new quarter.

However, an interesting aspect is that Tesla can actually afford to cut the prices by that much thanks to its industry-leading gross margin.

The price drops are significant enough that Tesla is now undercutting many other new EVs coming from the competition.

It is certainly making the EV market much more interesting, especially in the US with the new tax credit coming into effect.

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Environment

Cybertruck backlog runs out, Model S gets stuck, GM hits a sales milestone

Published

6 hours ago

November 5, 2024

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Cybertruck backlog runs out, Model S gets stuck, GM hits a sales milestone

On today’s episode of Quick Charge, Tesla’s Cybertruck is now available in Canada – and, like in the US, there’s no waiting! Plus, we’ve got an “actually” smart summon Tesla that’s actually stuck, GM reaches a sales milestone, and we get a brand-new title sponsor!

Today’s episode is the first with our new title sponsor, BLUETTI – a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems.

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New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonusLucid proves than an EV company can keep its promises while Xiaomi teams up with Chevrolet and Honda to prove – at least conceptually – that records are made to be broken. audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news!

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This ‘supercharger on wheels’ brings fast charging to you [update]

Published

8 hours ago

November 4, 2024

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This 'supercharger on wheels' brings fast charging to you [update]

Mobile car care company Yoshi Mobility launched a DC fast charging EV mobile unit that it likens to “a supercharger on wheels.”

November 4, 2024 update: Yoshi Mobility will only be charging EVs on the side of the road now – it announced today that it’s selling its fleet fueling operation to EZFill Holdings (Nasdaq: EZFL).

It was originally founded as a direct-to-consumer, mobile fueling business in 2016, but now it’s going to focus on mobile EV charging, virtual vehicle inspections for partners like Uber and Turo, and onsite preventative maintenance.

Bryan Frist, Yoshi Mobility’s CEO & cofounder, said, “By spinning off our fuel business and focusing all of our energy on solving hair-on-fire problems that fleet owners face, we are meeting the changing needs of enterprise customers while making the future of transportation safer, cleaner, and more sustainable.”

May 22, 2024: Yoshi Mobility saw that its existing customers needed mobile EV charging in places where infrastructure has yet to be installed, so the Nashville-based company decided to bring the mountain to Moses.

“We recognized a demand among our customers for convenient daily charging, reliable private charging networks, and proper charging infrastructure to support their fleet vehicles as they transition to electric,” said Dan Hunter, Yoshi Mobility’s chief EV officer and cofounder.

The company says its 240 kW mobile DC fast charger, which can turn “any EV” into a mobile charging unit, is the first fully electric mobile charger available. It can provide multiple charges in a single trip but doesn’t detail how they charge the DC fast charger or who manufactured it. (I asked for more details, and they replied that they won’t disclose client names or the manufacturer of its DC fast charger yet.)

Yoshi is launching its mobile charger on two GM BrightDrop Zevo 600s and will introduce additional vehicles throughout 2024. It aims for full commercialization by Q1 2025. (I wonder if the Zevo 600 ever charges itself? Yes, I asked that too.)

Yoshi Mobility says it’s already deployed its EV charging solutions to service “major OEMs, autonomous vehicle companies, and rideshare operators” across the US. Its initial customers are made up of large EV operators managing “hundreds” of light-duty vehicles requiring up to 1 megawatt of energy per day that don’t yet have grid-connected EV chargers. I’ve asked Yoshi for details of who it’s working with, and will update if they share that info.

The company says pricing is based on location and enterprise charging needs. Once under contract for service, the service will be deployed to US-based customers within 10 days.

To date, Yoshi Mobility has raised more than $60 million, with investments from GM Ventures, Bridgestone, ExxonMobil, and Y-Combinator in Silicon Valley.

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Marqeta shares plunge more than 30% on big forecast miss

Published

8 hours ago

November 4, 2024

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Marqeta shares plunge more than 30% on big forecast miss

Marqeta celebrates its initial public offering at the Nasdaq on June 9, 2021.

Source: The Nasdaq

Marqeta shares tumbled more than 30% in extended trading on Monday after the company issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the fourth quarter.

Here’s how the company did compared with Wall Street estimates, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Loss per share: 6 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 5 cents expected
Revenue: $128 million vs. $128.1 million expected

While third-quarter results showed a slight disappointment on the top and bottom lines, Marqeta’s forecast for the current period was more concerning.

The payment processing firm said revenue in the fourth quarter will increase 10% to 12% from a year earlier. Analysts were looking for growth of more than 17%, according to LSEG.

Marqeta, which primarily functions as a card-issuing platform, attributed the guidance miss to “heightened scrutiny of the banking environment and specific customer program changes.” The company has been struggling for a while, and its stock is now down more than 80% from its peak in 2021, the year it went public. The stock was down 15% for the year prior to the report.

Total processing volume of $74 billion was up more than 30% from a year earlier. Net revenue and gross profit were up 18% and 24%, respectively.

Marqeta’s digital commerce business sells payment technology designed to detect potential fraud and ensure that money is properly routed. It also issues customized physical cards that look like a credit or debit card that can be used for point-of-sale purchases.

The company has been trying to break into the buy now, pay later business with a recently launched product called Marqeta Flex. The service brings BNPL from lenders such as Affirm or Klarna to any credit card wherever Mastercard and Visa are accepted.

“It’s an orchestration layer, but it’s tied to issuing and processing and disputes and chargebacks,” CEO Simon Khalaf told CNBC at Money2020 in Las Vegas last week. “So it is not actually a Wild West in BNPL. It is actually very well established. And there is a reason why a lot of people are jumping to it.”