Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk gets in a Tesla car as he leaves a hotel in Beijing, China May 31, 2023.
Tingshu Wang | Reuters
Tesla has once again cut prices in mainland China, a competitive move that sent shares sliding as much as 3% in Monday morning trading.
Shares pared back their earlier losses to trade slightly negative, down around 1.5% by midday. The automaker announced the moves in a Weibo post late Sunday evening.
Two Chinese versions of Tesla’s Model Y crossover, priced at 299,000 and 349,000 yuan, have been discounted by 14,000 yuan, or around $2,000.
The Model 3 will have a “limited-time insurance subsidy” of 8,000 yuan, or around $1,100. The insurance subsidy will last until September, according to Tesla’s post.
A ferocious price war between Tesla and domestic Chinese automakers such as BYD, Nio and Xpeng ate into Tesla’s margins in the second quarter of 2023. Tesla has lost ground to domestic competitors, even as it ramps up production in its Shanghai Gigafactory.
Tesla cut prices multiple times throughout 2022 and 2023, in an effort to clear out inventory and grow deliveries, the closest approximation the company offers to sales.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.