Tesla cuts price of Model 3 — but not to $35K

Tesla has cut the starting price of its Model 3 sedan by more than $1,000, bringing it closer to its long-fabled $35,000 price tag.

In a tweet at 2 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Chief Executive Elon Musk shared a Tesla post announcing the new price would be $42,900.

The billionaire entrepreneur tweeted that the real price of the electric car is $35,000 if buyers take into account “$8k of [tax] credits & fuel savings.”

Reminded by a Twitter follower that the promise was for a $35,000 car without the fancy accounting, Musk replied: “We’re doing everything we can to get there. It’s a super hard grind.”

The federal electric vehicle tax credit, which lowers the cost of a Tesla, dropped to $3,750 in January and will be halved again this summer before disappearing completely in 2020.

In an effort to lower the price of the car, Musk, who is also the founder of rocket company SpaceX, has slashed more than 3,000 jobs and ended a customer referral program.

The referral program, which ended at the beginning of February, gave new buyers six months of free vehicle charging and prizes for existing owners, such as launching personal photos into deep space and invites to Tesla events.

Tesla shares were down 0.2 percent in Wednesday morning trading, at $320.74.