Model Y

Make
Tesla
Segment
SUV

One lucky Tesla Model Y owner received a $12,000 price cut despite ordering his Model Y in July 2022. The report comes via Business Insider, which has seen a screenshot of the communication between Tesla and the unnamed individual.

The original cost of the Model Y ordered roughly six months ago was $72,440. The customer reached out via Tesla's online chat asking for a price reduction but was told it was not possible. However, he received an email the next day stating that the price had dropped to $60,440.

Tesla did not say why this particular customer received a price cut, but the news of this goodwill from the American EV maker is bound to spread like wildfire. Whether Tesla will honor all requests remains to be seen. It's an opportunity for the embattled automaker and its CEO to get positive coverage.

Tesla shook the EV industry to its core earlier in January when it announced substantial price cuts across the board. This move came as a surprise, as Tesla increased the price of its models several times in 2022.

At the end of 2022, Tesla offered substantial price cuts on Model 3 and Model Y models and 10,000 free supercharging miles to get people to buy a new car before 2023.

Tesla made these moves to keep customers from waiting for 1 January 2023 when the new Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) kicked into effect, even though the regulations were still hazy.

After Tesla announced the significant price cuts, customers were rightfully angry. Tesla owners across the globe lashed out at the brand. Locally, customers lost out on as much as $13,000 in savings. When you look at the new price of the Model Y, which is Tesla's best-selling model, it's easy to see why people felt duped. The base Model Y's price dropped enough to bring it under the $50,000 IRA cost cap, which meant this particular trim is $20,000 cheaper than it was in December 2022.

Tesla's latest move is bound to hurt Lucid Air sales, as the Model S' new entry-level price is now a lot closer to the base Air Pure. It also forced the recently launched VinFast to rethink its entire strategy shortly after its first shipment of models arrived in the USA.