Tesla's stock slides 5% after fresh volley of price cuts and discounts from EV maker

By Claudia Assis

Tesla discounts in China include insurance and financing

Shares of Tesla Inc. fell more than 5% Monday amid a fresh round of discounts and price cuts by the electric-vehicle maker in China and in the U.S.

In China, Tesla (TSLA) is offering incentives of up to about $5,000 through March on Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in inventory, Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner said in a note Monday, citing news reports.

The new incentives include insurance discounts, discounts on paint changes and preferential financing plans on the Model Y, he said.

In the U.S., Tesla is offering 5,000 miles of free use of Superchargers, Tesla's network of fast chargers located near highways, on select trade-ins through the end of March. "This is in addition to the company offering transfers of [Full Self Driving] beta and free lifetime Supercharging incentives through the end of March," the analyst said.

But Tesla also reversed a temporary February discount on some Model Y versions in the U.S., Rosner said.

See also: Why BYD is rolling out a $233,000 'supercar' as Tesla and Rivian try selling cheaper EVs

Car discounts and incentives, which had all but dried up in the past couple of years, have returned in recent months. They are part of the reason February car sales in the U.S. were slightly better than expected, hitting 15.8 million vehicles on an annualized basis, versus expectations of 15.4 million.

Tesla for months has waged a price war of sorts to stimulate sagging demand for EVs in the U.S. and assuage concerns that mass adoption of EVs is still far in the future in this country. In China, the EV maker has to contend with a slew of local rivals that are also making inroads in Europe.

Tesla is working on a next-generation EV with hopes of starting its production in the second half of next year.

The stock is down nearly 4% in the past 12 months, contrasting with gains of around 27% for the S&P 500 index SPX. The underperformance has been more acute in recent months, with Tesla shares down 23% so far this year versus an advance of about 8% for the broader index.

-Claudia Assis

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03-04-24 1153ET

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