Tesla delays price increases blamed on Brexit until 14 January

Tesla has delayed a planned increase in prices for its car models in Britain by two weeks due to strong demand experienced in December.

The American electric car maker had planned to up prices by 5% from 1 January, but that date has now been pushed back by 14 days in order to allow customers who were unable to complete their order in time to avoid additional costs.

Cars ordered by 14 January and delivered by 15 April will also retain free access to Tesla's network of Superchargers. After that, customers will have to pay to charge their cars following an initial free period of roughly 1000 miles.

“Due to exceptionally high demand at the end of the year, we’ve extended the order date by two weeks for customers who were unable to finalise their purchase,” Tesla said.

Tesla added that the increase in prices for its models has been driven by currency fluctuation: “Global pricing for our cars is fair and transparent as we believe it should be the same on a global level, adding only unavoidable taxes, customs duties and transportation costs. This means that currency fluctuations need to be accounted for by price changes over time.”

Industry insiders label the weakened value of pound sterling following last year’s Brexit vote as a main cause for the price hike. Similar price increases have been made by manufacturers including Ford, Honda and Suzuki. However, Hyundai has pledged to not to increase its prices.

Before the New Year, Tesla also finalised an agreement with electronics giant Panasonic to produce photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules at its factory in Buffalo, New York, USA. The PV cells and modules will be used to produce solar panels in non-solar roof products, providing green energy for technology such as Powerwall and Powerpack chargers.