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Tesla CEO Musk recently responded to questions from netizens about whether Tesla has plans to lower prices on social platforms, saying Tesla cars may cut prices if inflation slows.

It is worth noting that Tesla has repeatedly raised prices on its models in China and the United States since March this year. Among them, in the Chinese market, on March 10, the price of Model 3 all-wheel drive high-performance version rose from 339,900 yuan to 349,900 yuan, Model Y all-wheel drive version rose from 347,900 yuan to 357,900 yuan, Model Y all-wheel drive high-performance version rose from 387,900 yuan to 397,900 yuan, and all three models rose by 10,000 yuan. On March 15, the rear wheel drive of Model 3 rose from 265,652 yuan to 279,900 yuan, with a price increase of 14248 yuan. The price of Model 3 all-wheel drive high-performance version rose from 349,900 yuan to 367,900 yuan, the price of Model Y all-wheel drive version rose from 357,900 yuan to 375,900 yuan, the price of both models rose by 18,000 yuan, and the price of Model Y all-wheel drive high-performance version rose from 397,900 yuan to 417,900 yuan, 20,000 yuan higher than before. On March 17, the price of the Model Y rear-wheel drive version rose from 301840 yuan to 316900 yuan, an increase of 15060 yuan.

As for the reasons for the price increase, Tesla Musk had earlier said on a conference call that the price increase was mainly due to serious inflation problems, and some parts suppliers raised prices by 20%~30%. However, Tesla will not raise prices in the near future, and the current price already includes Tesla's expectations for future cost increases. Of course, if subsequent component prices rise more than expected, Tesla prices may continue to rise. On June 17, Tesla's price rose again in China, and the price of its domestic Model Y long-life version rose from 375900 yuan to 394900 yuan, with a price increase of 19000 yuan. Tesla has not responded to the price adjustment, but the reason for the rise may be related to rising prices of upstream raw materials.

Because Tesla uses a direct-sales model, its vehicle price adjustment reflects the actual situation of cost fluctuations, and Tesla raised the price of Model 3 and Model Y again, largely due to the increase in the supply of parts and the price of power battery raw materials. It is understood that the price of lithium carbonate has risen rapidly in recent times, and one of the raw materials of the power battery, the core component of new energy vehicles, is lithium carbonate. The rapid rise in the price of lithium carbonate is one of the reasons driving the price increase of new energy vehicles. In addition, nickel and cobalt are also important components of new energy vehicle batteries. The lithium ion battery of new energy vehicles has three layers in total, among which the lithium cathode is composed of lithium mixed with nickel and other minerals such as cobalt, manganese or aluminum.

Since March, the price of nickel has also risen sharply. Under the pressure of soaring raw material prices, more and more automobile enterprises announced price increases, and some models were even directly announced to stop selling. Electric car companies also said that the recent rise in raw material prices for batteries, by far the most expensive component of electric vehicles, is an important factor affecting the price increase of electric vehicles. The prices of lithium, nickel and cobalt have also skyrocketed since the global epidemic began, nearly doubling in price.

In addition, many new energy automobile enterprises are also facing huge cost pressure due to factors such as global shortage of chips and parts and declining subsidies for new energy vehicles. A number of new energy vehicle enterprises have successively raised the prices of their vehicles. According to the data released by CCTV Finance and Economics earlier, nearly 20 new energy automobile enterprises have announced price increases since March, involving nearly 40 models, and the increase of vehicles is as little as 1,000 yuan and more than tens of thousands of yuan. A new energy vehicle salesman from Beijing revealed: At the beginning of this year, the price increase of new energy has increased and varied, including new forces, Chinese brands, joint venture brands and imported brands, with price increases ranging from 1% to 10%.

However, the price increase of vehicles does not prevent the continued popularity of new energy vehicles. According to relevant data, in the first half of 2022, the production and sales volume of new energy vehicles in China continued to rise. In June, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 590,000 and 596,000 respectively, up 1.3 times year-on-year, and the market share reached 23.8%. 1-6 In September, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were completed 2.661 million and 2.6 million respectively, an increase of 1.2 times year-on-year, market share reached 21.6%.

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