- Ford is working to refund Mach-E owners after cutting prices.
- The move comes after Tesla’s price cuts rankled current owners.
- Ford is the primary to hit back in Elon Musk’s pricing war.
Ford is reaching out to its customers for refunds after cutting the value Monday of the electrical Mustang Mach-E.
Elon Musk’s Tesla kicked off a pricing war earlier this month when it slashed the costs of its hottest vehicles. While the move drove a spike in latest customer interest, current Tesla owners were peeved by the incontrovertible fact that they’d shelled out extra cash for a vehicle that suddenly dropped in value.
Ford, the primary to hit back against Musk’s price competition, is taking a distinct approach with its price cuts. Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer of Ford’s electric Model e division, told reporters the automobile company would reach out to current Mach-E owners to refund the difference in the value these owners paid before Monday’s reduction.
Rules on refunds like this vary from state to state, Gaja said, which suggests Ford could have to make individual reach outs with “personal offers.”
“We wish our customers to know they made the suitable decision by selecting a Mustang Mach-E,” Gaja said. “We’ll proceed to play a proactive role in doing the suitable thing for those joining the Ford family.”
Ford executives have already said that the Mach-E isn’t a profitable vehicle, even prior to the value cuts and plans for customer refunds.
The scale of the value reduction on the electrical Mustang differs by trim level. A typical Mach-E starts at $45,995, down $900 from the previous sticker price. That is in comparison with Tesla’s latest price for the Model 3, which now starts at $43,990.
Investors have overall reacted positively to Tesla’s decision to cede profits for market share in the electrical vehicle market, particularly after Musk calmed lingering trepidation on a recent earnings call.
Ford hitting back at Tesla’s EV price competition is the corporate’s latest move to compete directly with Musk’s electric automobile company. Ford CEO Jim Farley said last yr Ford was aiming to take Tesla’s spot as the highest seller of EVs. Since then, Ford has also made changes to the best way it sells electric cars to more closely emulate Tesla’s direct-sales model.
Are you a Mustang Mach-E owner or a Tesla owner impacted by price cuts? Get in contact with Nora Naughton at nnaughton@insider.com.