Tesla’s back-to-back price cuts put sticker on U.S. Model S below $70,000

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc will further cut the price of its Model S “Long Range” sedan in the United States to $69,420, the electric carmaker’s chief executive, Elon Musk, announced in a tweet https://bit.ly/2H0JCP0 on Wednesday.

The anticipated drop marks the second time this week Tesla has cut the price for the high-end sedan, following a 4% cut of the Model S’s price in the United States on Tuesday to $71,990.

Tesla shares were up 3.6% at $462.72 late on Wednesday afternoon.

The company also on Tuesday reduced by 3% the price of its Model S in China, where it had previously cut the starting price of its Model 3 sedan.

“The gauntlet has been thrown down! The prophecy will be fulfilled. Model S price changes to $69,420 tonight!” Musk tweeted. His reference to a prophecy was not immediately clear.

Tesla’s Model S was introduced in 2012, but in recent years the car has faced competition from Tesla’s less expensive, mass-market Model 3 sedan, launched in 2017. The Model 3 currently starts at $37,990 in the United States.

(Reporting by C Nivedita in Bengaluru and Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Matthew Lewis)