Ford and Tesla slashed car prices — but only one is giving customers who missed out their money back

• Ford is working to refund Mach-E owners after cutting prices.
• The move comes after Tesla's price cuts rankled current owners.

Ford is reaching out to its customers for refunds after cutting the price Monday of the electric Mustang Mach-E.

Elon Musk's Tesla kicked off a pricing war earlier this month when it slashed the prices of its most popular vehicles. While the move drove a spike in new customer interest, current Tesla owners were peeved by the fact that they had shelled out more cash for a vehicle that suddenly dropped in value.

Ford, the first to hit back against Musk's price war, is taking a different approach with its price cuts. Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer of Ford's electric Model e division, told reporters the car company would reach out to current Mach-E owners to refund the difference in the price these owners paid before Monday's reduction.

Rules on refunds like this vary from state to state, Gaja said, which means Ford will have to make individual reach outs with "personal offers."

"We want our customers to know they made the right decision by choosing a Mustang Mach-E," Gaja said. "We'll continue to play a proactive role in doing the right thing for those joining the Ford family."

Ford executives have already said that the Mach-E is not a profitable vehicle, even prior to the price cuts and plans for customer refunds.

The size of the price reduction on the electric Mustang differs by trim level. A standard Mach-E starts at $45,995, down $900 from the former sticker price. That's compared to Tesla's new price for the Model 3, which now starts at $43,990.

Investors have overall reacted positively to Tesla's decision to cede profits for market share in the electric vehicle market, particularly after Musk calmed lingering trepidation on a recent earnings call.

Ford hitting back at Tesla's EV price war is the company's latest move to compete directly with Musk's electric car company. Ford CEO Jim Farley said last year Ford was aiming to take Tesla's spot as the top seller of EVs. Since then, Ford has also made changes to the way it sells electric cars to more closely emulate Tesla's direct-sales model.

Are you a Mustang Mach-E owner or a Tesla owner impacted by price cuts? Get in touch with Nora Naughton at nnaughton@insider.com.