Elon Musk hopes Tesla can lower vehicle prices in the future

Elon Musk hopes to lower vehicle costs when inflation slows down

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that Tesla may start reducing the prices of its electric vehicles, which have increased 20-30% in the past two years.

When Musk was asked about when we can expect Tesla to lower its prices again, Elon said that Tesla could lower prices when "inflation calms down."

One of the main complaints about Tesla's electric cars is their cost. In late 2017 Tesla started with the Long Range RWD Model 3, and over the period of the next year or two, prices actually went down as Tesla reached volume production and manufacuring efficiencies.

However, as we hit 2020, the pandemic caused supply chain challenges and inflation that adversely impacted the auto industry along with the broader economy.

In early 2020, the Tesla Model Y started at $53,000. Today, the same vehicle starts at $66,000 representing a 25% increase in price in less than two years.

However these drastic price increases have not affected demand. In fact, recent inflation of gas prices has contributed to a significant backlog of orders. Some Tesla models having a 6 to 10 month delivery timeline on new orders.

Although Tesla has been increasing prices over the last two years, its gross margins have also increased. This means that Tesla's price increases have been greater than their cost increases.

This is because Tesla has to set prices based on the cost of vehicles produced in 6 to 10 months from now rather than the cost of vehicles produced today.

Put another way, vehicles being ordered today are priced based on the cost of vehicles produced (and delivered) in 6 to 10 months from now in order to account for future cost increases.

With so much uncertainty around the supply chain and inflation, it is hard for Tesla to predict those costs accurately.

If inflation calms down, we can lower prices for cars

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2022

Once these issues are resolved, Tesla hopes to reduce their prices. A big part of Tesla's mission is to reduce electric vehicle prices to make them accessible to everyone.

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Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

Not a Tesla App

For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series. 

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

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Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6

— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer. 

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips. 

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.

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