Tesla is cutting the price of its electric cars in the US by $2,000 in an attempt to soften the impact of a reduction in federal tax credits for EVs, it announced yesterday.

The electric car and battery storage giant said it was taking steps to "partially absorb" the drop in US tax credits offered to EV buyers, which as of January 1 halved from a maximum $7,500 to $3,750 per car.

A $2,000 price cut on the Tesla Model S, Model X and Model 3 vehicles will not be enough to entirely offset the drop in federal incentives. However, by combining the $3,750 tax credit for new electric cars with potential state-level incentives and lower maintenance and charging costs, Tesla claimed its EVs would be "even more affordable" than rival gasoline cars.

Tesla announced the move as it published its production figures for 2018, which show it delivered a total of 245,240 electric vehicles throughout the year - almost as many as in all previous years combined. The company claimed the figures "likely represent the biggest single-year growth in the history of the automotive industry".

But some commentators suggested the move to cut prices was also partly aimed at stimulating further demand for Tesla cars, after the firm produced and delivered fewer electric vehicles than expected during the fourth quarter of 2018.

Tesla's share price fell by eight per cent on publication of the figures, which demonstrate the continued challenge for the firm in ramping up production to meet demand for its EVs and move into stable, long-term profitability. In October, the company pulled into profit for the first time in two years.

"There remain significant opportunities to continue to grow Model 3 sales by expanding to international markets, introducing lower-priced variants and offering leasing," the company said in a statement. "International deliveries in Europe and China will start in February 2019. Expansion of Model 3 sales to other markets, including with a right-hand drive variant, will occur later in 2019."

In related news, new figures released yesterday revealed almost a third of all cars sold in Norway in 2018 were pure electric, marking a new world record. 

The Norwegian Road Federation said electric cars made up 31 per cent of total car sales in 2018, up from 20.8 per cent in 2017 and the largest share of any national market in the world.

Norway has a target to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025, and electric car owners enjoy perks including free parking and free use of public charging points.