patrick.net

#teslapriceincrease I got curious. 18 months ago, Elena and I bought a Tesla ModelX SUV. The total cost including State of California sales tax was $100,000. I looked at the price of the car today with the following results:
List Price of Vehicle: $114,990.00 US
State Sales Tax: $ 10,786.05 US
Total Drive Off Cost: $125,776.00 US
This indicates a price increase of over 25% in 18 months. Part of this price increase is inflation that is racking us now. Part has to do with chip shortages and higher prices of materials like lithium, nickel, rare earths, etc.
Tesla has a unique system of selling cars. One does not go to a dealer and buy a car. Rather, one goes to Tesla.com. The car and all its features are selected. Payment is arranged for the vehicle. The car is manufactured and sent to one of Tesla's distribution centers.
We have a Tesla distribution center a couple of miles from the house. The last time I drove by there I would estimate that in excess of 100 cars were on the lot awaiting the pickup from buyers. The higher prices do not seem to be hurting Tesla's sales or profits.