Tesla announces price hike on Model 3, Model Y electric cars in US and China

Tesla price hikes come amid surging raw material costs, made worse by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and could set back the dream of Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk.

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Tesla Inc increased the pricing of its Model Y SUV and Model 3 Long Range sedan in the United States by $1,000 each, and some Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in China by 10,000 yuan ($1,582.40), according to its website. The company increased prices for the most affordable versions of Model 3 and Model Y about a dozen times last year in the United States, according to data tracked by Reuters.

The U.S. price of the EV maker's Model Y Long Range car has jumped 20% from January 2021, along with a 10.6% hike for its Model 3 Long Range sedan during the same period. The move comes amid surging raw material costs, made worse by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and could set back the dream of Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk and other auto executives to roll out more affordable electric vehicles.

"Rising prices of nickel, lithium and other materials threaten to slow and even temporarily reverse the long-term trend of falling costs of batteries, (the most expensive part of EVs) hampering the broader adoption of the technology", said Gregory Miller, an analyst at industry forecaster Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

With inputs from Reuters