TESLA aims to address customer issues over variations in pricing as it rolls out the next generation of Australia’s most popular EV, the Model Y.

The electric SUV has been launched priced from $58,900 (plus costs) for the rear-drive model and $68,900 (plus costs) for the dual motor (all-wheel drive).

Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla country director Thom Drew told GoAutoNews Premium that the company was “confident” about its price structure and didn’t entertain the possibilities of price fluctuations — aside from incentives — caused by external pressures, including competitor discounting.

“We don’t see any large fluctuations in pricing in the future,” he said.

He said that over time, efficiencies in production and other business functions and component price moves would affect Tesla but he saw no point in revisiting the dramatic price changes seen in the past two years as part of an EV war.

Mr Drew said the future for EVs and Tesla remained bright, despite some recent hiccups.

“There’s still a lot of room to grow in EVs,” he said.

“We have strong orders for the Model 3 and especially the new Model Y in Australia so we have a focus on improving customer service, including our own body repair shops.

“The market outlook for Tesla shows so much potential with room to grow in the commercial space.

“There is also a lot of potential with the Cybertruck.”

Tesla country director Thom Drew

Mr Drew said that the Model 3 was “still holding up very well” in sales with the Camry Hybrid as its main rival. But he is more optimistic about the sales success ahead for Tesla in the new Model Y.“There is more potential in the SUV sector so we have a new Model Y for that,” he said.

“I’m also very confident about the Model Y’s pricing position. We’ve never been in a better position. The dual motor has had a slight price reduction while the RWD went up slightly.”

He said EVs were showing increased interest from buyers and were even taking slices out of the market held by ICEs.

Tesla Model Y

‘We welcome competition by other EV makers,” he said.“The more voices means we’re all doing a better job. We rather see ICEs and mild hybrids as our main competition.”

He said Tesla sees opportunity for growth in the commercial vehicle market, bringing to the recent Melbourne Motor Show a Cybertruck for evaluation.

“There’s lots of potential for the Cybertruck,” he said.

“We haven’t made a decision about it for Australia as yet but there is a lot of interest by buyers wanting a utility vehicle.”

He said there was also talk about the CyberCab (RoboTaxi) two-passenger model which is yet to be confirmed for production.