Tesla hikes prices after Elon Musk says costs rising; Cheapest is Model 3 priced at $46,990

Tesla Inc. raised prices on all its vehicles after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said costs were increasing at the companies he runs.

The cheapest Model 3 in the U.S. is now $46,990, according to Tesla’s website. The company raised prices by 3% to 5% in both the U.S. and China, Dan Levy, a Credit Suisse analyst, said in a note to clients.

Musk tweeted earlier this week that both Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. were seeing “significant” inflation in raw materials and logistics. The electric car and rocket-making companies aren’t alone. The S&P GSCI Index -- a commodity market benchmark -- surged 20% the first five days of the month, the biggest weekly gain going back to 1970.

This is Tesla’s second round of price increases in the last week. The company raised the price of certain versions of the Model 3 and Y on March 9 in the U.S., followed by an increase for China-built vehicles in that market on March 10.

Bentley to roll out one electric car annually for five years from 2025

(Reuters) - Luxury carmaker Bentley unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a new electric model annually for five years from 2025 after its annual profit skyrocketed, as the British firm builds on parent Volkswagen's push to broaden electric offerings.

Crewe, England-based Bentley posted a profit of 389 million euros ($427.1 million) for 2021, compared with a profit of 20 million euros in the previous year, after deliveries jumped 31% to 14,659 cars on strong demand for new hybrid models.

Carmakers globally are doubling down on efforts to shift to electric models as calls for more environment-friendly machines grow. Bentley parent Volkswagen - Europe's biggest carmaker - is ramping up investments in power infrastructure to take on Tesla.

Bentley itself is targeting to be end-to-end carbon-neutral by 2030, having invested 3 billion euros at its Crewe factory over a period of 10 years to aid this transition.

"Increasing demand for our hybridised models, supported by (3 billion euros) of sustainable investment in our Crewe factory, will ensure we remain the benchmark manufacturer in sustainable luxury mobility," said Jan-Henrik Lafrentz, member of the board for Finance and IT at Bentley.