Nickel impact: Tesla EVs get costlier, cheapest car now starts at $46,990

Tuesday,15 March 2022 08:20 PM IST

New Delhi, March 15

 Hit by soaring raw material prices and global chip shortage, Elon Musk-run Tesla has increased prices across its line-up for electric vehicles (EVs), and the cheapest Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive car now costs $46,990 from earlier $44,990.

Tesla's top-end Model X Tri motor model saw a price increase of $12,500, from $126,490 to $138,990.

Tesla last week raised prices of Model 3 and Model Y by $1,000 as nickel prices surged to cross $100,000 per tonne.

While the price of Model 3 Long Range has been increased from $51,990 to $54,490, Model 3 Performance variant will now cost $61,990 (earlier $58,990).

The price of Model Y Long Range has been increased from $59,990 to $62,990 and the Model Y Performance model will cost $67,990 (from $64,990), according to data via Wayback Machine.

Musk on Monday said that Tesla and SpaceX are facing significant inflationary pressures in raw materials as well as logistics.

"Tesla and SpaceX are seeing significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials and logistics," Musk said in a tweet.

He, however, said his companies "are not alone", as the Ukraine-Russia conflict sent commodity prices to their highest levels since 2008.

The prices of raw materials used to build EVs like steel, nickel, and palladium have soared in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In 2021, Tesla made several price hikes and blamed it on being under pressure from supply chain constraints following the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Electrek.

Rising nickel prices have thrown a spanner in Musk and other automakers' dream of introducing affordable electric cars soon.

Nickel has long been widely used in batteries, most commonly in nickel cadmium and in the longer-lasting nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries, which came to the fore in the 1980s.
 

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