

News
Tesla holds highest average transaction price increase in 2022, Musk warns of ‘inflation pressure’
Tesla and SpaceX are experiencing substantial “inflation pressure,” according to CEO Elon Musk, who hinted toward potential price increases for his electric automotive company’s products in the coming months. It appears inflation pressure has already contributed to increases in Tesla’s average transaction price, which spiked more than any other major automaker from January to February 2022, according to Kelley Blue Book data.
Last night, CEO Elon Musk indicated both Tesla and SpaceX were experiencing incredible pressure from inflation, which would likely increase the costs of its products. “Tesla & SpaceX are seeing significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials & logistics,” Musk said. “And we are not alone.”
Tesla & SpaceX are seeing significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials & logistics
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022
It is no secret inflation has already contributed to price increases across nearly every sector, whether it be technology, automotive, or another consumer good. Tesla has not been invincible in recent months, being forced to increase prices of its vehicles due to raw materials availability, especially for electric vehicle batteries.
KBB data displayed the average transaction cost of every major automaker in January and February 2022. Tesla saw the most drastic increase in average transaction price from January 2022 to February 2022, with the cost increasing by 4.1 percent. Acura had the next-highest increase from January to February at 3.4 percent. Overall, the industry saw a 0.6 percent decrease in new vehicle cost during the first two months of 2022.
Tesla is just one of many in terms of costs rising substantially from February 2021 to February 2022. With the industry seeing an average 11.4 percent increase in transaction price Year-Over-Year in February, Tesla’s average surged 14.8 percent, a far cry from Jeep and Acura, who saw the highest increase with 20.9 and 21 percent, respectively.
Credit: Kelley Blue Book
“Consumers are paying near top dollar for new vehicles as prices remain high and incentives fall to a record low,” Michelle Krebs of Cox Automotive said. “With prices for oil and gas, along with commodities like metals used to build vehicles, soaring due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, automakers may be compelled to try to offset their increasing costs by raising vehicle prices. The Ukraine situation is causing additional disruption to the automotive supply chain which makes the likelihood of growing inventory, which remains stuck at low levels, less of a sure thing.”
RELATED:
Ukraine confirms second batch of Starlink terminals from Elon Musk have arrived
Inflationary pressure, especially with raw materials, including nickel, has perhaps delayed the rollout of new strategies for electric car companies. While many automakers, including Tesla, Rivian, Ford, and others, have committed to the potential use of nickel-based battery packs. However, Nickel prices have surged to $100,000 per metric ton on the London Metals Exchange, leading to a trading freeze.
Electric car owners are not the only ones feeling intense economic pressure. Combustion engine drivers are watching prices at the pump swell to near $6 per gallon in some instances. AAA data has the average cost of a gallon of gas in the U.S. at $4.325 per gallon, a nearly $1.50 increase in the past year.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
News
Tesla rolling out Robotaxi pilot in SF Bay Area this weekend: report
Similar to the Austin pilot, the Robotaxi rides will reportedly be a paid service.

Tesla is reportedly preparing to launch a Robotaxi pilot program in the Bay Area this weekend, with invites to a select number of customers reportedly being sent out as early as this Friday.
The update was shared in a report from Insider, which cited an internal memo from the electric vehicle maker.
New Robotaxi service launch
According to Insider, the Robotaxi service in the Bay Area is set to launch as soon as Friday. Thus, some Tesla owners in the area should receive invites to use the driverless ride-hailing service. Similar to the Austin pilot, the Robotaxi rides will reportedly be a paid service.
The publication noted that the Robotaxi service’s geofence in its Bay Area launch will be quite large, as it will include Marin, much of the East Bay, San Francisco, and San Jose. This is not surprising as California has long been saturated with Teslas, and it is home to several of the electric vehicle maker’s key facilities.
Unlike the Austin pilot, the Tesla Robotaxi service’s pilot in the Bay Area will use safety drivers seated in the driver’s seat. These drivers will be able to manually take over using the steering wheel and brakes as needed. As per a spokesperson from the California DMV, the agency recently met with Tesla but the company is yet to submit a formal application to operate fully driverless cars.
Tesla Robotaxi expansion
Interestingly enough, Tesla did tease the release of its Robotaxi service to the Bay Area in its second quarter earnings call. While discussing the service, Tesla VP of Autopilot/AI Software Ashok Elluswamy mentioned that the company will initially be rolling out Robotaxis with safety drivers in the San Francisco Bay Area. He did, however, also highlight that the electric vehicle maker is working hard to get government permission to release the service for consumers.
“The next thing to expand would be in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are working with the government to get approval here and, in the meanwhile, launch the service without the person in the driver seat just to expedite and while we wait for regulatory approval,” he stated.
News
Tesla is ready with a perfect counter to the end of US EV tax credits
Tesla executives have mentioned that these more affordable models would resemble the company’s current lineup.

The United States’ electric vehicle tax credit is coming to an end at the end of the third quarter. Tesla, the country’s leading electric vehicle maker, is ready to meet this challenge with a rather simple but clever counter.
Tesla executives outlined this strategy in the recently held Q2 2025 earnings call.
End of the US EV tax credit
While Elon Musk has always maintained that he prefers a market with no EV tax credit, he also emphasized that he supports the rollback of any incentives given to the oil and gas industry. The Trump administration has not done this so far, instead focusing on the expiration of the $7,500 EV tax credit at the end of the third quarter.
Tesla has been going all-in on encouraging customers to purchase their vehicles in Q3 to take advantage of lower prices. The company has also implemented a series of incentives across all its offerings, from the Cybertruck to the Model 3. This, however, is not all, as the company seems to be preparing a longer-term solution to the expiration of the EV tax credit.
Affordable variants
During the Q2 2025 earnings call, Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moray stated that Tesla really did start the production of more affordable models in June. Quality builds of these vehicles are being ramped this quarter, with the goal of optimizing production over the remaining months of the year. If Tesla is successful, these models will be available for everyone in Q4.
“We started production in June, and we’re ramping quality builds and things around the quarter. And given that we started in North America and our goal is to maximize production with a higher rate. So starting Q3, we’re going to keep pushing hard on our current models to avoid complexity… We’ll be ready with new, more affordable models available for everyone in Q4.,” Moravy stated.
These comments suggest that Tesla should be able to offer vehicles that are competitively priced even after the EV tax credit has been phased out. Interestingly enough, previous comments from Tesla executives have mentioned that these more affordable models would resemble the company’s current lineup. This suggests that the more affordable models may indeed be variations of the Model Y and Model 3, but offered at a lower price.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk reveals Tesla’s next Robotaxi expansion in more ways than one
Tesla Robotaxi is growing in more ways than one. Tesla wants to expand and hopes to reach half the U.S. population by the end of the year.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the company’s plans for its next expansion of the Robotaxi in terms of both the geofence in Austin and the platform overall, as it looks to move to new areas outside of Texas.
Tesla launched the Robotaxi platform last month on June 22, and has since expanded both the pool of users and the area that the driverless Model Y vehicles can travel within.
The first expansion of the geofence caught the attention of nearly everyone and became a huge headline as Tesla picked a very interesting shape for the new geofence, resembling male reproductive parts.
🚨 Elon Musk says Tesla’s Robotaxi geofence in Austin will get “even bigger and longer” in “a couple weeks or so” pic.twitter.com/0gLeKfURMi
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 23, 2025
The next expansion will likely absolve this shape. Musk revealed last night that the new geofence will be “well in excess of what competitors are doing,” and it could happen “hopefully in a week or two.”
Musk’s full quote regarding the expansion of the geofence and the timing was:
“As some may have noted, we have already expanded our service area in Austin. It’s bigger and longer, and it’s going to get even bigger and longer. We are expecting to greatly increase the service area to well in excess of what competitors are doing, hopefully in a week or two.”
The expansion will not stop there, either. As Tesla has operated the Robotaxi platform in Austin for the past month, it has been working with regulators in other areas, like California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida, to get the driverless ride-hailing system activated in more U.S. states.
Tesla confirmed that they are in talks with each of these states regarding the potential expansion of Robotaxi.
Musk added:
“As we get the approvals and prove out safety, we will be launching the autonomous ride-hailing across most of the country. I think we will probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half the population of the US by the end of the year.”
We know that Tesla and Musk have been prone to aggressive and sometimes outlandish timelines regarding self-driving technology specifically. Regulatory approvals could happen by the end of the year in several areas, and working on these large metros is the best way to reach half of the U.S. population.
Tesla said its expansion of the geofence in Austin is conservative and controlled due to its obsession with safety, even admitting at one point during the Earnings Call that they are being “paranoid.” Expanding the geofence is necessary, but Tesla realizes any significant mistake by Robotaxi could take it back to square one.
-
Elon Musk1 week ago
Waymo responds to Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion in Austin with bold statement
-
News1 week ago
Tesla exec hints at useful and potentially killer Model Y L feature
-
Elon Musk1 week ago
Elon Musk reveals SpaceX’s target for Starship’s 10th launch
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Tesla ups Robotaxi fare price to another comical figure with service area expansion
-
News1 week ago
Tesla’s longer Model Y did not scale back requests for this vehicle type from fans
-
News1 week ago
“Worthy of respect:” Six-seat Model Y L acknowledged by Tesla China’s biggest rivals
-
News1 week ago
First glimpse of Tesla Model Y with six seats and extended wheelbase
-
Elon Musk1 week ago
Elon Musk confirms Tesla is already rolling out a new feature for in-car Grok