Tesla to raise car prices, keep several stores open
An advertising screen is seen outside a Tesla showroom in west London, UK, March 1, 2019. REUTERS / Toby Melville
(Reuters) ̵[ads1]1; Electric car manufacturer Tesla Inc said on Sunday it will increase the prices of its high-end vehicles with around 3 percent on average as it plans to keep more stores open than planned.
Tesla said worldwide price increases will apply to the more expensive models of Model 3, Model S and Model X, and there will be no price increase of $ 35,000 Model 3.
The car manufacturer said potential buyers can place orders to March 18 to the old prices.
The move comes after Tesla said last month it was changing all sales online to help reduce prices by around 6 percent on average, so that it could reach the $ 35,000 model 3 earlier than expected.
Cost savings from the store closure will only be about half the expected amount as the company will close only half of the number of stores scheduled, it said.
The car manufacturer said that some stores in high visibility locations that were closed due to low throughput would be reopened with a smaller Tesla crew.
Tesla said the stores will carry fewer cars in stock for customers who want to run with a Tesla immediately.
Reporting of Rishika Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing of Subhranshu Sahu and Gopakumar Warrier
