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Op-Ed: How the new Tesla Model Y became China’s best-selling car in March
With just a few weeks’ worth of local deliveries, the new Tesla Model Y saw enough consumer interest in China to make it a best-seller.
Recent news from China has revealed that the country’s best-selling car in March 2025 is also one of its newest. Despite deliveries in the country being ongoing for only a few weeks, the new Tesla Model Y ended March as the country’s best-selling vehicle.
In this article, we explore how the new Model Y was able to accomplish this feat despite its recent deliveries, as well as the reasons why the all-electric crossover was able to beat rivals from Chinese New Energy Vehicle (NEV) giant BYD.
The New Model Y’s Domination
Rankings from China last month indicate that Tesla was able to sell 43,370 new Model Y units in March 2025. This was despite the revamped all-electric crossover only starting domestic deliveries in late February. This means with just a few weeks’ worth of local deliveries, the new Model Y saw enough consumer interest to make it a best-seller.
A BYD Comparison
Skeptics might find it difficult to rationalize how a vehicle that sold 43,370 units became China’s best-selling car in March, especially since local automaker BYD sold far more new energy vehicles during the month. As per BYD, it sold a total of 395,091 units in March, though this is comprised of battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and commercial vehicles across its multiple brands.
As noted in a CNEV Post report, BYD’s top seller in March 2025 was its Song family of vehicles, which sold 96,087 units. The Song family is comprised of the Song L EV, Song L DM-i, and Song Pro DM-i of the Dynasty series, as well as the Song Plus EV and Song Plus DM-i of the Ocean series.
BYD’s second-best-selling vehicle is the Qin family, which sold 58,383 units in March. The Qin family includes the Qin Plus DM-i, Qin Plus EV, and the Qin L EV. In third place is the Seal family, which sold 44,563 units during the month. The BYD Seal family is comprised of vehicles like the Seal sedan, Seal 06 GT hatchback, Seal 07 DM-i, Seal 06 DM-i, and Seal U SUV.
Advantages of a Limited Lineup
Looking at BYD’s results in March, it is difficult not to be impressed by the Chinese automaker’s numbers. However, due to BYD’s immense vehicle lineup, such as the Song family comprising several models, each model’s raw sales numbers were lower than the new Model Y’s 43,370 units in March.
This is quite the advantage for Tesla’s lineup. Since Gigafactory Shanghai only produces the Model 3 and Model Y, the domestic sales of both vehicles are very concentrated. This may also be one of the reasons why the new Model Y’s sales in March proved enough to make the vehicle into China’s best-selling car, even if Giga Shanghai is still ramping its production of the all-electric crossover.
Just a Good Car
While Elon Musk’s political nature and close ties with U.S. President Donald Trump may play some role in Tesla’s sales in the United States and Europe, his political views may not be a factor at all for a good number of car buyers in China, which also happens to be the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
In China, at least, it appears that the Model Y is a popular choice for consumers simply because it is a vehicle that presents excellent value for its price. That’s a difficult combination to beat, even for BYD, which is currently China’s undisputed king of the NEV market.
Elon Musk
County vote hands Elon Musk’s Vegas tunnel network a huge new target
Clark County approved 19 more Vegas Loop stations, pushing Boring Company’s entitled total to 123.
The Boring Company just got permission to nearly double how far Vegas Loop can reach. Clark County commissioners approved 19 additional stations for the underground transit system, bringing the total entitled to 123, the company said in a post on X thanking the county for the vote. Elon Musk’s tunneling company also flagged the direction it sees the project heading long term. “Because Loop is point-to-point with no intermediate stops, in the limit, one could have a Loop station in every driveway,” the company wrote.
That framing captures how far the ambitions have moved. The Vegas Loop opened its first stretch of tunnel in 2021 and has grown its footprint through a string of county approvals since. In 2023, commissioners signed off on 18 additional stations, part of a plan that later doubled the system’s target to 69 stations across 65 miles. By the end of that year the company was describing a build out closer to 93 planned stations. Last year the long term design called for 104 stations across 68 miles of tunnel. The new approval pushes that number to 123, another jump in a project that keeps outgrowing its own blueprints.
The Boring Company gets approval for more stations in Las Vegas
Station count on paper is still well ahead of what riders can actually use. As Teslarati reported earlier this month, the network has about 11 open stations and has carried more than 4 million passengers since it began running, with newer stops at Fontainebleau and Sahara among the latest additions to the Strip corridor. A tunnel connection to Harry Reid International Airport remains under construction and has already slipped past its original first quarter target. The company is also racing to finish a Westgate to Paradise Road segment that Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill has said it hopes to have running in time for November’s Formula 1 race.
The gap between entitled stations and operating ones is where the real story sits. Regulatory approval gives Boring Company the legal runway to keep tunneling toward new resorts, residential pockets and eventually the airport, but building each connection still comes down to boring machines, fire safety sign offs and construction timelines that have slipped before. The company’s Prufrock series machines set an internal record in March with a 2.28 mile tunnel near Westgate, evidence that construction has been picking up even as the list of approved destinations grows faster than the tunnels themselves.
Musk’s driveway comment reads as aspirational rather than a near term plan, but it fits how Boring Company has talked about Vegas Loop from the start: treat every approval as a floor, not a ceiling, and keep pushing county officials for room to dig.
SpaceX announced today that it would expand its launch capabilities into a new U.S. state: Louisiana.
Today, SpaceX, in conjunction with the Louisiana Economic Development Office, said that it will establish a new launch facility, which it will call Starbase, Louisiana. It will be located near Vermilion Parish, supporting thousands of launches each year, at least eventually.
CEO Elon Musk commented by stating, “Starbase Louisiana will ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30 Starship flights per day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth!”
Starbase Louisiana will ultimately have over a dozen launch towers, enabling more than 30 Starship flights per day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth!
SpaceX makes sci-fi real. https://t.co/C7Ht0U12ba
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2026
The expansion is SpaceX’s latest move to push its launch cadence to be more frequent than ever. SpaceX said that Starbase, Louisiana, will be built to “support thousands of Starship flights a year,” with the first coming in 2029.
SpaceX announced the new facility in partnership with the Louisiana Economic Development Office as it will bring a major influx of jobs and investments into the area. Currently, it will produce more than 3,000 new jobs in Louisiana, and SpaceX plans to invest at least $100 billion into the entire facility, ensuring that many jobs are created as a result.
Environmental Responsibility
SpaceX acknowledges the impact launches could have on marshlands, local wildlife, and water sources. Here’s how the company plans to help with the issues in Vermilion Parish:
- Restoring the Shoreline: “In Vermilion Parish, the shoreline is eroding between 3.3 and 23 feet per year. We’re partnering with state and federal agencies to expand Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan and Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act projects, including Gulf shoreline protection breakwaters designed to reduce wave energy and slow loss along the Gulf edge.”
- Rebuilding the Marshlands: “In working with the state, we’re planning thousands of acres of marsh creation using beneficial-use placement of dredged material and offshore sediment sources. Restoration will also include interior marsh bank stabilization and rebuilding marsh in remnant canals. These projects can reconnect fragmented wetlands, restore natural buffers against storms, and return habitat that has been lost to erosion and historic canalization.”
- Preserving Coastal Wildlife: “Pecan Island and nearby wetlands are high-value habitat for migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and other coastal wildlife. SpaceX is not developing the full footprint of the land and will preserve wetlands and wildlife habitat. At existing launch sites, waterfowl and other birds continue to use nearby habitat during operations. Working with wildlife agencies, landowners, and conservation groups, SpaceX will support monitoring and management so this habitat stays productive and hunting, fishing, birding, and other recreational activities that are part of this coast’s culture can continue.”
SpaceX shares rose about 2.5 percent on the news.
Tesla Cybertruck trims saw a big price change, at least on two of the three available to consumers, as demand for the all-electric pickup appears to be increasing.
Tesla bumped up its Base All-Wheel-Drive trim level up to $74,990 from $69,990 and the Premium All-Wheel-Drive configuration from $79,990 to $84,990. The Cyberbeast price remains unchanged at $99,990.
🚨 Cybertruck prices went up as Tesla bumped them 7%
– Tesla Cybertruck AWD is now $74,990
– Tesla Cybertruck Premium AWD now $84,990
– Tesla Cyberbeast now $99,990 https://t.co/MYJbaw56GL— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 25, 2026
Despite questions of demand for the truck, Tesla is bumping its two least expensive trims up $5,000 to signal that there are plenty of buyers. Although SpaceX has been buying Tesla Cybertruck units to utilize as company vehicles, it is no secret that the Cybertruck is among the most sought-after Tesla models out there.
The issue has always been pricing, at least for the most part. When Tesla initially launched the Cybertruck AWD at $59,990 a few months back, the company stated that price would remain intact for just ten days due to the influx of orders it received.
Cybertruck Sales: Is It the Product or Pricing?
Depending on who you ask, you will likely hear one of two explanations for relatively low Cybertruck sales: either the product itself or the pricing.
Yes, this is the best-selling all-electric pickup on the market. However, there are people who simply hate the look of it, which I understand, but do not agree with. Look is totally subjective, and I love the look of the Cybertruck.
Some people will not buy the Cybertruck because of the look, but I am under the impression that sales would be much better if this truck were priced lower; something that might not be possible considering Tesla’s need to make money on its products. When it was unveiled in 2019, its most expensive trim level was $69,990. Now, the cheapest trim level is more expensive than that.
I would be in a Cybertruck if it were more affordable. I LOVE my Model Y, but Cybertruck is the best vehicle Tesla makes, and it’s not particularly close. Even in the base model, the steer-by-wire, the space, storage, and performance make it more desirable than the Model Y to me. I cannot be the only Tesla owner without a Cybertruck who feels this way.
If you’re interested in buying a Tesla vehicle, use my referral link.
County vote hands Elon Musk’s Vegas tunnel network a huge new target
SpaceX announces new Starbase for ‘thousands of Starship launches annually’
