Based on insurance registration, Tesla’s deliveries in China dropped to a scary low level last week despite having ramped up production of the new Model Y.
China and the US are Tesla’s two most important markets.
Tesla makes its profit, albeit declining profits, in the US and from China, where it gets its volume. The automaker doesn’t make much money in China because over 90% of the vehicles it delivers there are cheaper RWD Model 3 and Model Y trims, and it has to discount them with 0% financing to sell them.
But China remains vital for Tesla since it exports electric vehicles to other markets, like Europe, from its Gigafactory Shanghai.
However, despite the heavy discounts on its vehicles in China, Tesla is having difficulties competing with the rapidly growing Chinese automakers.
According to insurance registration data, Tesla delivered only 3,070 vehicles in China last week—down 69% from the same week last year.
2025 deliveries are now down compared to 2024 over the same period:
As you can see from the bottom of the charts, the weekly deliveries remain significantly below 2024 levels despite Tesla being back to full Model Y production.
Tesla’s lower domestic deliveries in China can sometimes be explained by the automaker focusing on exports, but the latest data also show that Tesla’s exports from China are also down.
While Tesla’s deliveries are lagging in China, the EV market is surging, led by BYD, SAIC, Geely, and others.
Tesla extended its 0% financing offer through June 30, the end of the quarter, to try to boost sales.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla makes about $3,000 per car in China without any discount or incentive because over 90% of them are based Model 3s or Model Ys.
Top comment by FC
Forget Musk. The Model Y refresh is ugly. It doesn't charge any faster than a 5 year old Y. It doesn't go any further than a pre-refresh Y, even though Tesla claims it is more efficient. The updated interior which was obviously not a huge hit for the Model 3 already looks old. You can't get any number of standard features that every other automaker offers (parking sensors, functional auto wipers, surround view cams, no radar or LiDAR). In China the supercharger network provides no real benefit vs. the tens of thousands of other DCFC, many of which are 2x as powerful as Tesla's V3 stations. The Chinese market likes new products and the fact of the matter is that Tesla doesn't have a single new product. They're all old. Stale. Mildly updating a car that looks and feels 97% the same as before is putting lipstick on a pig. Tesla needed to be launching new generations of the 3 and Y, not facelifting 5-7 year old cars. 5-7 years is the average length of time a generation of car is on sale before being replaced. The Juniper/Highland are gen 1.25, at most. Musk insisted people would buy Teslas like iPhones. He thought/thinks some minor software updates and the equivalent of "an updated camera" is going to persuade people to plunk down $50K+ on a car. It won't.
When you take into account the subsidized financing, Tesla is basically breaking even on vehicles delivered in China.
This could turn negative really quickly if Tesla can ramp up deliveries.
These current levels of 3,000-7,000 EV deliveries per week are not sustainable. Even Tesla bears thought Tesla would be back to selling about 10,000 units per week in China by now thanks to the new Model Y.
It looks like demand for the updated Model Y is way lower than expected.
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