Tesla has ditched refundable $1,000 reservation fees and $2,500 order deposits, which were required to order its cars previously, and instead will now charge a $100 non-refundable order fee, according to updated language on its web site.

The order fee means that Tesla will make money every time a person places an order, even if they decide not to move forward with their purchase -- no matter why they decided to bail.

Tesla is also banning customers who return one of their electric vehicles from buying the same trim for a full year. After making a return, a customer will have to either go for an upgrade, a downgrade, or a different model -- or they can walk away.

These and other recent price tweaks could help Tesla chase profitability, which the company has promised to achieve in the second half of 2019. But the changes could also drive away prospects who don't want to pay the higher prices, or cause some customers to delay purchases while they wait for the next batch of tweaks and incentives.

Frost & Sullivan's Director of Aftersales, Retail & New Mobility Research, Kumar Saha, believes the company has little to lose in changing its prices and policies in this manner.

He explained, "Tesla is building its brand and its manufacturing capabilities in front of everybody's eyes. They also want to torch the existing automotive retail practice and build it up in [CEO Elon] Musk's image. Musk loves to go ahead with anything that's disruptive and goes against the current of automotive retail. Since they are not beholden to dealerships and do not have to adhere to franchise laws like other automakers -- there's no reason why they have to follow a traditional path, either."