A much more normal pattern is to raise prices a small amount each year, and a little more when they do a visual refresh or complete redesign. Then as that model generation ages, they keep the official price the same, but offer discounts through their dealership system as incentives. It's not so different from lowering the price, but it's slightly more hidden.
It gets more obvious when a certain model (or an entire make) is unpopular, and starts seeing several thousand dollar discounts across the line. Even really popular vehicles like pick-up trucks sometimes get five figure incentives placed on them. "20% off brand new trucks!"
It's not at all weird for vehicles to get more expensive each year, but it's usually obfuscated by the wide variety of trim levels and options, which are often shuffled with the price changes. A mid-year price increase is, at least to my mind, pretty unheard of. Of course Tesla is in the news 24/7, and might be getting more attention than we're used to. With the spotlight on them, they can't do this without serious scrutiny, and it is an atypical pattern of "playing" with prices to try to find profitability while moving a lot of product.
It gets more obvious when a certain model (or an entire make) is unpopular, and starts seeing several thousand dollar discounts across the line. Even really popular vehicles like pick-up trucks sometimes get five figure incentives placed on them. "20% off brand new trucks!"
It's not at all weird for vehicles to get more expensive each year, but it's usually obfuscated by the wide variety of trim levels and options, which are often shuffled with the price changes. A mid-year price increase is, at least to my mind, pretty unheard of. Of course Tesla is in the news 24/7, and might be getting more attention than we're used to. With the spotlight on them, they can't do this without serious scrutiny, and it is an atypical pattern of "playing" with prices to try to find profitability while moving a lot of product.