Tesla's deep price cuts this month have boosted demand beyond the automaker's ability to make its cars fast enough, but volume production of the highly anticipated Cybertruck pickup won't come until 2024, CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday's quarterly earnings call.
"The most common question we've been getting from investors is about demand," Musk said. "I want to put that concern to rest: Thus far in January, we've seen the strongest orders year-to-date ever in our history."
Tesla cut prices mid-January across its entire lineup by up to 20 percent in the U.S. Its most popular vehicle, the Model Y, received a price reduction of $13,000. This week, however, Tesla raised the Model Y price by $500 because demand was so high.
"We're currently seeing orders at almost twice the rate of production," Musk said. "We've actually raised the Model Y price a little bit in response to that."
The Tesla price reductions have also had a secondary effect. By pushing the standard, two-row Model Y just below $55,000, the electric crossover is able to qualify for a $7,500 EV tax break as part of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law last year.
The IRS has given guidance that the base two-row Model Y qualifies as a car with a $55,000 price cap for the incentive, while the three-row Model Y that costs $4,000 more qualifies as an SUV with an $80,000 price cap.
Tesla said in its fourth-quarter earnings released Wednesday that it's forecasting global vehicle sales to rise to 1.8 million this year from about 1.3 million last year. But Musk said on the earnings call that Tesla should be capable of producing — and selling — about 2 million barring any major problems.