Tesla's back-to-back price cuts put Model S sticker at less than $70,000

U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc cut the price of its Model S "Long Range" sedan in the U.S. to $69,420, its website showed, following a tweet flagging the cut earlier Wednesday from CEO Elon Musk.

The cut is Tesla's second this week for the high-end sedan, following a 4 percent cut to $71,990 on Tuesday.

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

Tesla introduced its Model S in 2012, but in recent years the car has faced competition from the automaker's less expensive, mass-market Model 3 sedan, launched in 2017, which currently starts at $37,990. The Model S makes up only around 5 percent of Tesla's unit volume, said a Credit Suisse analyst in a client note on Wednesday.

The analyst said the Model S price reduction was likely in response to price cuts by electric vehicle startup Lucid Motors, which sells its luxury sedan Air model at a starting price of $69,900. That includes a $7,500 U.S. government electric vehicle tax credit, for which Tesla vehicles are no longer eligible.

The price cuts also come as competition in the electric vehicle market - long dominated by Tesla - heats up, with several automakers launching new electric vehicles next year.

Germany's Daimler is scheduled to release an electric variant of its Mercedes-Benz S-class luxury sedan, the EQS, next year.