At the time of the announcement Tesla said it had made the changes to cut operating costs. It also said that it could now start taking orders for the low end $35,000 Model 3s that had been promised since the first announcement of Model 3s back in March of 2018.
Tesla reverses decision
The February 28 decision angered customers who had just recently bought Tesla vehicles at higher prices. It also created confusion among employers of the stores. Just two weeks after their announcement the company reversed course and halted store closings. The company said that it is closely evaluating every Tesla retail location.
Prices to rise again
Having decided to keep many stores, Tesla also decided to raise prices by 3 percent on its premium models to increase revenue to help pay for the stores. It decided to keep almost all sales online even in stores. The price rise does not apply to the cheapest Model 3s nor to the new Model Y. Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, spent last week occasionally reminding his 25 million Twitter followers that the prices of premium models would go up on Tuesday.
Price rise delayed
The price rise announcement led to many customers taking advantage of the lower prices before prices went up again, inflating sales volumes. The company tweeted on Tuesday morning:“Due to unusually high volume, Tesla was unable to process all orders by midnight on Monday, so the slight price rise on vehicles is postponed to midnight Wednesday.”
The new Model Y
The Model Y is to be released in 2020 a compact SUV. The model Y looks much like the Model 3 only as an SUV it is somewhat larger. A recent Verge article notes: “The specs weren’t much of a surprise either: the long-range Model Y has a range of 300 miles and seating for seven. A performance version of the vehicle is capable of sprinting from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. It’s Musk’s fifth car ever to hit the road, and it’s the company’s second attempt at a mass-market electric vehicle.”
Musk claimed the Model Y has all the functionality of an SUV but will ride like a sports car. Tesla is already taking preorders of the Model Y starting at $47,000. A cheaper $39,000 version is expected in 2021. More details on the Model Y can be found in a recent Digital Journal article.