Tesla to hike prices for Model 3, S and X in Australia due to plunging dollar

The Driven

Electric car maker Tesla is expected to adjust pricing for its Model 3, Model S and Model X within days following the significant fall in value of the  Australian dollar amid the Coronavirus crisis.

Sources who declined to be identified told The Driven that the price rise could be implemented by Friday, and that staff have been directed to seize the opportunity and push through sales before the weekend.

The price rise for the top selling Model 3 and the other models could add up to a few thousand dollars. The current price for the Standard Range Plus Model 3 starts at around $68,000 before on-road costs that differ from state to state, while the Model S is priced at around $125,000 and the Model X at around $134,000.

The Australian dollar has taken a beating in recent months, slipping from 70 cents against the American dollar in late December to less than 61.5 cents on Wednesday.

The last significant price hike by Tesla in Australia came just weeks after the Model 3, Tesla’s answer to the “affordable” electric car, was finally released on the Australian market in last September.

The base pricing of $66,000 (excluding on roads) for the Model 3 SR+ was raised to $67,600, and another $300 has been added to the price since then.

A spokesperson for Tesla confirmed with The Driven regarding past price changes that like other car companies, Tesla pricing is periodically adjusted to account for currency fluctuations, but declined to comment on the coming price hike.

To read the full version of this story – and view the photo gallery – on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…


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Bridie Schmidt is lead reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, and has a keen interest in the role that zero emissions transport has to play in sustainability.

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