Tesla executives are hyping up the pricing of its electric cars amid growing consumer concerns about car and gas prices.
“In terms of our vehicle, I think it’s always worth noting that Tesla cars are incredible value for money and depending on what part of the world you are in, they’re all ready for autonomy,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, April 22.
Tesla Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said Tesla’s value proposition is helping the company capitalize on the surge in EV interest that has occurred since gas prices rose.
“On the order backlog front, we ended the quarter with the highest Q1 order backlog in 2 years,” Musk said. “Although the recent increase in gas prices has had a positive impact on order rates, this improvement began before gas prices increased. This is due to the work the Tesla team has done to bring a more attractive and affordable vehicle to the market.”
The comments come as Tesla revealed it has more than 50,000 unsold EVs – far more than it will produce or sell in the first quarter of 2026. The country’s largest electric car seller reported global production of 408,386 cars in Q1, but sold only 358,023 cars in the same period.
The average price of gas on Friday, April 24 was $4.05 per gallon, down slightly from $4.07 per gallon on April 17.
How does Tesla’s price compare to other EVs
According to Kelley Blue Book, the average price of a new Tesla EV in the first three months of 2026 was $53,421. The average price of all new electric vehicles over the same period was $54,508 – making Tesla slightly cheaper than the broader EV market.
Average Tesla prices in March were 2.6% below the average transaction amount for March 2025, and 1.2% below the average Tesla price in February.
Tesla’s price was helped by incentives averaging about $6,570.78, representing 12.3% of its total average transaction value. The average incentive for other electric cars in March was $7,958.16, or 14.6% of the overall average price of a new EV.
Taneja said Tesla is increasing production of the Model 3 sedan because of its value to buyers.
“Ten years ago, when we launched the Model 3 in the U.S. with a promised starting price of $35,000, that translates to about $48,000 in today’s dollar terms if you adjust for inflation,” Taneja said during an April 22 call. “The starting price of the Model 3 is significantly lower than it is today, while the product is much more attractive than where it started. Given the setup, we are focused on increasing our total production volumes, which we have already started in Q1.”
Tesla’s growing pile of unsold EVs
Tesla produced 50,363 more electric cars than it sold in the first three months of 2026 – so there are likely deals available for buyers. That gap is dramatically higher than the 16,131-vehicle surplus the company reported in Q4 2025, when Tesla produced 434,358 cars and sold 418,227.
For all of 2025, Tesla produced 1,654,667 EVs and sold 1,636,129, a difference of only 18,538 units for the entire year.