Tesla Model 3 Performance price hiked $1k again, under a month after release

The Model 3 Performance just got a big refresh, after the Model 3’s overall “Highland” refresh.

The refresh includes more horsepower (up to 510hp now, and 0-60 of 2.9 seconds), some exterior changes, and lots of other underlying changes to make the car better at performance applications.

And it also included a very attractive price – one which was actually cheaper than the lower-spec Long Range Model 3 after taking tax credits into account, since the Performance qualifies for the US EV tax credit and the Long Range model doe snot.

As a result it immediately garnered rave reviews both from online observers who note its impressive specs and value proposition compared to competing vehicles, and from the few car reviewers who Tesla deigned to allow to review the vehicle ahead of its release.

But perhaps those reviews were too good, and Tesla decided they could command a higher price for these vehicles. As a result, just 3 days after release, Tesla hiked the price of the Model 3 Performance by $1,000. At the same time, it reduced the price of some paint and interior options as well.

Now, we’re having a little déjà vu as almost the exact same thing has happened again.

Today, Tesla hiked the price of the Model 3 Performance by another $1,000, up to $54,490, just $10 less than the $55k limit to access the EV tax credit.

Again, just as last time and perhaps to compensate, Tesla lowered the price of some other options. Now, the “Black and White Interior” is included in the base price of the vehicle, instead of being a $1,000 option as it was yesterday. So if you were going to get the black & white interior, the car will cost the same as it did yesterday, but the standard black interior now costs $1,000 more.

The Model 3 Performance is still slightly cheaper than the Long Range model, assuming you qualify for the $7,500 US EV tax credit. If you do, the base price of the Performance model is $47,490, whereas the base price of the Long Range model is $47,740 – $250 more. The Performance model comes with more performance, but the Long Range model does have a longer range, at 341 miles rather than the 296 miles of the Performance model with its stickier tires, bigger motors and so on.

However, since the tax credit is attainable even on non-qualifying cars via a lease, the lease rates for the RWD ($299/mo) and Long Range AWD ($439/mo) are still significantly cheaper than the Performance AWD model ($616/mo) – and that last number, for the Performance model, is $50 more per month than it was yesterday.

Finally, Tesla also changed some pricing for other Model 3 options, increasing the cost of the “Black and White” interior to $2k, from the $1,500 price it was previously, for both the RWD and Long Range models.

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