The electric Lotus SUV was meant to be a performance bargain, but soaring import duties had other plans for the priceJust a handful of Eletre models were sold in the US last year. The all-electric Eletre Carbon started at a staggering $232,900. The new model, known as the Eletre Carbon, cost an eye-watering $232,900. We decided to take the highest trim—the Eletre Carbon, a fully loaded car—sold then as model-year 25 in a limited edition.” Lotus Eletre CarbonTrantini added that when the import duty was increased once again, this time to 150 percent, Lotus could no longer find a business case for selling the Eletre in the U.S. market.