Tesla has slashed car prices in China for the 2nd time in 3 months as demand falters

• Tesla cut prices in China for the second time in three months, as demand for its cars falters.
• Elon Musk's EV maker discounted its cars by up to 13.5%, including for the Model 3 and Model Y.

Tesla has just slashed the price of its cars in China again, in an apparent bid to boost sales in the face of slowing demand in the world's second-largest economy.

That makes it the second time in less than three months that the US electric-vehicle maker has lowered prices for Chinese buyers. In late October, Tesla discounted prices by 9% for two of its cars.

The company has cut the cost of its Model 3 and Model Y, as well as its for its high-performance Model S Plaid and Model X Plaid, going by listings posted Friday to its Chinese website.

The discounts for the Model 3 and Model Y range between 6% to 13.5%, according to Reuters calculations — making them thousands of dollars cheaper than in the US.

After the news, Tesla shares fell 4.3% to $105.64 not long after the open Friday, after closing down 2.9% at $110.34 the previous session.

But the stock has been struggling for some time, as concerns about demand, missed delivery targets and Tesla CEO Musk's focus on Twitter swirl around the company. It logged its worst yearly loss on record in 2022, sinking by 65% and wiping out more than $700 billion in market value.

Tesla's sales in China – the world's largest car market – have been declining as its economy stutters, with the slowdown blamed on strict COVID-19 restrictions only just being lifted after three years in place. The company has said it expects to face a "pain period" in China before sales recover again.

Analysts have begun to take a more downbeat tone on prospects for Tesla. Fundstrat global stock strategist Mark Newton, for one, believes Tesla's stock has been "broken" ever since Musk sold off a big chunk of shares.