Tesla (TSLA) increased the price of the top-end variant of its nimble sports electric sedan Model 3 Performance for the 2nd time in a span of just one month.
The automaker launched the new Model 3 Performance (Highland Ludicrous) in the US at the price point of $52,990. However, within days of the launch, Tesla increased the price to $53,990.
With the most recent price hike of $1,000, the price of the new Tesla Model 3 Performance is set to $54,990. This puts the Performance variant of the Model 3 at the edge of getting disqualified from the federal tax credit criteria.
If a vehicle’s base MSRP is more than $55,000, it gets disqualified from getting the $7,500 US federal electric vehicle tax credit. Tesla kept the price of the new Model 3 Performance just under this price criteria to keep the vehicle eligible for the tax benefit.
White Interior is Now Free with Model 3 Performance
If Tesla did not include the White and Black interior option in the price of the vehicle, it would have raised the price of the Model 3 Performance to $56,490. This price point is way above the federal EV tax credit’s maximum price criteria.
For the new Model 3 Performance (Highland), Tesla offered the Black and White interior option for an additional $1,500. The Black interior was the only included option on the vehicle before the recent price increase.
With the price raise, Tesla Model 3 Performance buyers now have the option to save $1,500 if they like the Black and White interior trim (which is the more popular option btw).
With the recent price increase and the free premium interior option, Black and White interior Tesla Model 3 Performance (Stealth Grey color) costs $500 less than it previously did.
The premium Black and White interior is only free/included on the top-tier Tesla Model 3 Performance variant. On Model 3 RWD and Model 3 Long Range AWD it costs an additional $2,000. Tesla also made multiple changes to the new Model 3 Performance interior and exterior at its launch.
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