Tesla Inc. (TSLA) has made the first price increase of this year for its smaller car segment i.e. Model 3 and Model Y. An increment of $1,000 has been made to all Model Y variants and to the Model 3 Long Range variant.
The base and top-end (Performance) variants of the Model 3 have been unaffected in today’s price increase (new prices below).
This price hike by Tesla has come at a time when nickel prices have surged to an all-time high. Nickel is an important ingredient used in making electric vehicle batteries. Nickel is used to make the cathode part of an EV battery cell.
After a record surge in the nickel commodity price on Tuesday (a phenomenal hike in percentage in the last 145 years), London Metal Exchange (LME) stepped in to halt the trading for a few days. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the major catalyst in the record price increase of nickel.
Russia has banned the export of Nickel in response to economic restrictions placed by the United States and its allies. In 2021, Russia accounted for about 9.2% of the world’s total nickel mining production and holds a reserve of 7.5 million tonnes of this metal.
With Tesla producing a high number of Model 3 and Model Y cars per day at its Fremont and Shanghai factories, these are the cars most affected by the scarcity and price hike of nickel.
Model Y production start at Giga Texas and Giga Berlin is getting closer day by day and Tesla will require more and more batteries and nickel in the coming months.
New Tesla Model 3 Prices
The last time Tesla made an increase in the price of Model 3 was back in November 2021. This time, Tesla has increased the price of the Model 3 Long Range AWD price by $1,000.
The new price of the Model 3 Long Range AWD is $51,990.
New Tesla Model Y Prices
Tesla has increased the price of both Model Y variants by $1,000. This electric SUV by the automaker is based on the same platform as the Model 3 and they share the same battery pack.
When Giga Texas and Giga Berlin start producing Model Y with the structural battery pack, both of these cars will differ significantly in this regard.
The new prices of the Model Y variants are as follows:
- Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD: $59,990
- Tesla Model Y Performance: $64,990
Next update: Tesla increases prices of Model S, 3, X, and Y again
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