Tesla's Slow-selling Cybertruck Is Getting A Price Hike

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Good morning! It's Friday, August 22, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift, your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, Tesla's astir costly Cybertruck is getting a value hike, Audi is raising prices crossed nan committee acknowledgment to tariffs, NHTSA is probing delays successful Tesla Full Self-Driving progressive clang reports and nan 2026 Nissan Leaf is simply a hellhole of a batch much costly successful Canada. 

We're ending nan week pinch a bang, friends.

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Tesla has apparently decided its slow-selling Cybertruck isn't trading slow enough, truthful it's raising nan value of nan top-end Cyberbeast exemplary by $15,000. The move comes aft a janky rollout and dozens of missed promises and goals. Now, nan Cyberbeast starts astatine $117,235, including destination. It comes pinch a caller "Luxe Package" that includes Supervised Full Self-Driving and free Supercharging, among a fewer different niceties that surely aren't worthy a mixed $15,000. 

Poorer Cybertruck owners tin respire a sigh of relief, though. The Cyberbeast is nan only motortruck seeing a value summation correct now. From Reuters:

The pricing of nan exemplary is good supra CEO Elon Musk's 2019 transportation of a astir $40,000 starting price. But erstwhile it was launched successful precocious 2023, Tesla group nan guidelines exemplary astatine $60,990, much than 50% higher than nan earlier target.

Rival models specified arsenic Ford's F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet's Silverado EV mostly connection little introduction prices connected definite trims, fueling title arsenic Cybertruck prices climb.

Tesla has besides been offering hefty discounts of astir $10,000 connected immoderate Cybertruck units successful inventory.

Musk antecedently said Tesla had nan capacity to nutrient much than 125,000 Cybertrucks annually, pinch a imaginable to scope astir 250,000 successful 2025, while besides informing of a difficult accumulation ramp.

Even nan astir humble expectations grossly overestimated nan demand for Cybertrucks. Tesla doesn't disclose nonstop transportation numbers for nan vehicle, but a March recall brought to ray conscionable really galore Cybertrucks were really successful owners' garages. It covered astir 46,000 vehicles built betwixt November of 2023 and February of 2025. That's a acold outcry from Musk's estimates. I'm judge making nan motortruck moreover much costly will thief matters.

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Audi is successful a reliable spot because of President Donald Trump's tariffs, and you're going to suffer because of it. It's 1 of nan fewer companies that imports each conveyance it sells successful nan U.S., truthful for nan 2026 exemplary year, prices will beryllium going up from $800 to $4,700, depending connected exemplary and trim. It's bad news for an automaker that is already dealing pinch a income slump successful nan United States. 

Except for nan Q5, which is built successful Mexico, all Audis are built successful Europe. Vehicles from nan EU are presently being deed pinch a 27.5% tariff, but it could soon but reduced to 15% arsenic portion of a waste and acquisition pact pinch nan U.S. From Automotive News:

The electrical Q4 E-tron compact crossover will spot nan smallest value increase, $800 aliases 1.6 percent, to $51,895, while pricing will emergence by $4,700, aliases 3.7 percent, to $131,295 for nan low-volume S8 ample sedan, Audi said Aug. 21.

The starting value connected Audi's introduction model, nan A3 compact sedan, is rising $1,900, aliases 4.8 percent, to $41,395.

The Q7 ample crossover now starts astatine $63,295, up $1,500, while nan intimately related Q8 crossover now starts astatine $76,895, up $1,200. All prices see shipping.

Lower-volume capacity models received immoderate of nan highest increases. The starting prices of some nan RS 6 Avant wagon and RS 7 sedan roseate $4,100.

Audi did not merchandise 2026 model-year pricing for nan A5 compact sedan, A6 E-tron Sportback sedan, A6 midsize sedan, aliases Q5 and Q6 E-tron midsize crossovers.

To thief cushion nan blow, Audi is including its Signature Care scheduled attraction programme for each 2026 models. Buyers will besides get 1 brake fluid work and immoderate insignificant instrumentality enhancements.

While these additions will surely help, nan added prices are surely going to beryllium a reliable pill to swallow for astir buyers.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is investigating Tesla's delays successful submitting clang reports involving advanced driver-assistance systems aliases self-driving vehicles. The agency says it has identified galore clang reports from Tesla that arrived respective months aliases much aft nan incident took place. Believe it aliases not, information regulators look down connected that benignant of thing. From Reuters:

The regulator requires that a study beryllium submitted wrong 1 to 5 days of a institution receiving announcement of a crash. In April, nan agency revised nan requirements.

The information agency said it was opening an audit query "to measure nan origin of nan imaginable delays successful reporting, nan scope of immoderate specified delays, and nan mitigations that Tesla has developed to reside them."

[...]

NHTSA said that "when nan reports were submitted, Tesla submitted them successful 1 of 2 ways. Many of nan reports were submitted arsenic portion of a azygous batch, while others were submitted connected a rolling basis."

In discussions pinch nan company, Tesla "indicates that nan timing of nan reports was owed to an rumor pinch Tesla's information collection, which, according to Tesla, has now been fixed," nan reegulator said.

NHTSA is besides reviewing whether immoderate reports of anterior Autopilot aliases FSD incidents remained outstanding. It's besides looking to spot whether nan reports that were submitted included each of nan required and disposable data. 

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It's reliable being Canadian. Not only do they person to woody pinch nan truth that they're saddled pinch nan much-worse metric system, they've besides sewage to woody pinch immoderate bull we're throwing their way. Now, there's a caller logic to consciousness bad for our neighbors up north: their Nissan Leaf is going to beryllium much costly than ours. In nan U.S., nan Leaf is slated to commencement astatine $29,990 (before destination), which is really cheaper than it was 15 years ago, but nan aforesaid cannot beryllium said for Canada. Those mediocre suckers will beryllium paying handsomely for nan mini electrical crossover. From Automotive News:

[I]n Canada, nan 2026 Leaf will costs importantly much than it did 15 years ago. It will commencement astatine C$44,998, which is C$6,600 much than nan introduction level Leaf costs successful 2011 erstwhile it was priced astatine C$38,395. Neither value includes shipping.

[...]

"Vehicle pricing is wished by a number of factors, including conveyance specifications, marketplace competitiveness, and more, hence why Canadian and U.S. pricing whitethorn not beryllium precisely nan same," Nissan Canada spokesperson Didier Marsaud said successful a connection to Automotive News Canada.

A look astatine nan modular options reveals Canadians mightiness beryllium paying much because of their colder bluish climate.

The pursuing comes modular connected nan 2026 entry-level Leaf successful Canada and are not disposable arsenic options successful nan United States: Heated beforehand seats; Heated mirrors; Heat pump; Battery heater; Integrated LED move signals.

The Leaf isn't precisely costly successful Canada. It's still cheaper than worldly for illustration nan Chevy Equinox EV, Kia Niro and Hyundai Kona. Still, being Canadian is simply a brave prime millions of group make each time that I'm not judge I'd ever beryllium capable to do myself. Sure, we've sewage each of this awfulness happening astir america each nan clip present successful nan U.S., but astatine slightest our beverage is successful jugs.

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The DS is 1 of my favourite cars of each time, and nan truth it saved de Gaulle is benignant of conscionable a prize to me. If you want to study much astir nan incident, caput complete to History.com.

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