Marianne Simmons, a self-professed "Tesla fan girl,” bought her second electric vehicle from the company in September: a white, high-performance Model Y ringing in at more than $77,000. Then the company slashed prices and she realized she could have bought the same car today at $13,000 less.
"I feel like I got duped. I feel like I got taken advantage of as a consumer,” said Simmons, 32, a web designer in Naples, Florida. "Right off the bat, I’m out $13,306. It’s such a large reduction that it’s going to affect a lot of people who just bought a vehicle.”
That’s the reality facing owners of Tesla vehicles after the company dramatically cut prices on its cars on Thursday, part of a push from Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to qualify some models for U.S. tax credits and increase sales volume in the face of weakening demand. For existing customers, the drop in prices of new models — some as steep as 20% — also means a hit to their vehicles’ once-impressive resale value.