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Tesla China sees 16,300 insurance registrations in November’s 3rd week

(Credit: Tesla Asia/Twitter)

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Tesla China’s insurance registrations for the week ending November 19, 2023 showed a notable improvement from the previous week. Over the week of November 13-19, Tesla China saw 16,300 insurance registrations. 

Tesla China does not post its weekly sales numbers, though a general idea of the country’s overall automotive market could be inferred from the number of new vehicle registrations that are filed per week. With this in mind, industry insiders and companies such as Li Auto, which produces electric vehicles, have taken it upon themselves to aggregate and post China’s weekly insurance figures. 

And as per Li Auto’s recent data, Tesla China saw 16,300 insurance registrations in the past week. This represents a 28.35% improvement from the 12,700 insurance registrations that were tracked from the second week of November. For context, Tesla China also saw 14,000 insurance registrations in November’s first week. 

Overall, it would appear that between November 1 and November 19, Tesla China had seen 39,300 vehicle insurance registrations in the domestic Chinese market, as noted in a CNEV Post report. This is quite impressive considering that there is still about a third of November remaining. If Tesla China’s pace continues until the end of the month, the electric vehicle maker could end November’s local vehicle sales on a strong note. 

Tesla China does seem like it is seeing some strong demand for its vehicles in the domestic Chinese market. Over the past week, the company has been steadily raising the prices of the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover, the two vehicles that are currently being produced in Gigafactory Shanghai. 

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Tesla China’s recent round of price increases started on October 27, when the Model Y Performance’s price was raised by RMB 14,000 ($1968). Another price increase was implemented on November 9, though this time, it was for the Model 3 Long Range and Model Y Long Range, which received price increases of RMB 1,500 ($210) and RMB 2,500 ($351), respectively. 

On November 14, the Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive and Model Y Rear Wheel Drive were also given a price increase of RMB 1,500 and RMB 2,500, respectively. And just earlier today, the Model Y Long Range’s price was raised by a further RMB 2,000 ($281) before options.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk roasts owners of this car brand after another Tesla vandalism incident

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Elon Musk roasted owners of one specific car brand after yet another incident of a Tesla being vandalized, this time in New York.

Tesla owners have had a bit of a target on their backs in recent months as Musk, CEO of the company, has joined forces with U.S. President Donald Trump in an effort to eliminate excessive and unneeded government spending in the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Due to Musk’s bold personality and unfiltered political beliefs, he has gained plenty of critics in the last few months. Tesla owners are being targeted as a result, seeing their vehicles be vandalized on nearly a daily basis.

Tesla-owned showrooms across the country have also been the target of some attacks, as one was even damaged in a series of shootings, another lit on fire by a Molotov cocktail.

Nevertheless, Musk has continued to stand firm on his beliefs, and Tesla drivers are getting fed up with the amount of damage being done to their cars. In this particular instance, someone drew a swastika on the side of a New York City Tesla Cybertruck owner. He was able to confront the person who drew the offensive logo, an exchange that was caught on camera:

The video was shared on X, which grabbed the attention of Musk, who was sure to criticize the make of the assailant’s vehicle: a Subaru.

Musk said:

“Crazy people. Naturally, he drives a Subaru …”

The playful jab at Subaru drivers likely comes from the stereotype that those vehicles are usually driven by people with intense political and social beliefs. Facetious posts on Reddit claim that Subarus won’t operate without at least ten bumper stickers on them. Subaru’s past marketing and advertising campaigns have attracted those who are “outdoorsy,” Google’s AI description of the drivers states.

Musk has never held back and never will. In an interview with MSNBC, he said he will speak his mind and if his companies lose money because of it, “so be it.” One thing is for sure, Musk is not going to shy away from speaking or posting how he pleases.

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Tesla stores continue to face anti-Musk protests

Scenes from a protest outside of Tesla’s store in Loveland, Colorado.

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Tesla stores have been the target of widespread protests and vandalism in recent weeks, after Elon Musk made a controversial gesture in January, and as he and the Trump administration’s newly created government efficiency division continues to gut federal agencies.

On Saturday, I went to the Tesla store in Loveland, Colorado, where demonstrators were already protesting upon my arrival at roughly 12:45 p.m. MT.  Walking up to the protest, I could see scattered groups of demonstrators lined up along about two blocks, spanning from the Tesla store to a nearby intersection and Sprouts location. One protestor said he had counted about 230 people at around 1:00 p.m. MT.

The protest felt generally peaceful, with cars driving by and honking, and demonstrators leaving a large space between the front of the Tesla store and the sidewalk, easily allowing workers and customers to go in and out.

You can see a few videos and photos from the site below, along with some of the responses I got from protestors and a prospective customer.

READ MORE ON TESLA PROTESTS AND VANDALISM:

I spoke to about a dozen protestors about what they were protesting against. Most said they were there to condemn Musk’s recent federal worker and program cuts with the Trump administration, his performance of what some said resembled a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January, or the administration’s recent attacks against transgender and queer individuals.

One protestor, Elsa, identified as a former Republican and said she was “highly concerned that our Constitution is being ignored,” especially with regards to the three branches of government and the system of checks and balances.

“It surprises me that, even if you voted for Trump, or you believe in capitalism, which, I didn’t vote for Trump, but I do believe in capitalism — I’m a former Republican, I was a Republican for most of my life — but it’s dangerous to have power rest in a handful of ultra-wealthy people,” Elsa said.

“And our whole country needs to realize that,” she adds. “This to me is not even Republican or Democrat at this point.”

Instead, she says it now comes down to whether people want to give billionaires huge tax breaks, or to use that money to support a range of groups in the U.S., including those who have social security benefits, are veterans, or are 9/11 survivors seeking cancer treatments, as a few examples.

Another protestor, Mary, said she was taking part in the demonstration “because she loves this country and democracy,” adding that she wanted to help preserve democracy for her grandchildren.

Still another protestor, Bryan, said that they were protesting because of the Trump administration and Musk’s attempts to erase transgender, non-binary, and queer people from history, drawing comparisons to the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany, where early human rights violations were lodged against gay and queer communities.

“I’m here because I have to be,” Bryan said. “I’m afraid of the future.”

Yet another person and his family were holding Ukraine flags, saying that they were protesting for a wide range of reasons, but especially for Trump’s recent meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Musk’s claims that the top Ukrainian executive was to blame for what he has called a “forever war.”

While most protestors appeared to be generally friendly, especially with each other, I did hear a few exchanges between demonstrators and those with other opinions. While I heard more cars honking throughout the experience, seemingly in support of the protests, I also noticed a few from which passengers yelled things like “Go Trump.”

“Direct action, we need to stop these fascists with direct action,” one protestor yelled in response.

Additionally, I also talked to a prospective customer, Kristy, who was there for a test drive and said she had a negative experience with the protestors.

“I was test driving a Tesla, and as we pulled in and parked right here, this black one, these people right here in the middle yelled at me, ‘Hope you’re turning in your f*cking Nazi car,’ and I said ‘F*ck you,’” Kristy explained.

“And they’re like ‘F*ck you too, you’re a Nazi, f*cking Nazi lovers.’ And so, they’re just yelling racial slurs at me, and I’m far from a Nazi.”

Tesla store advisers declined to comment on the protests, and so did Loveland police.

Other Saturday protest footage from Tesla stores in California, Texas, and New York

The Loveland Tesla store has also been the site of repeated attacks in recent weeks, with authorities on Friday making a second arrest following multiple incidents. You can see the Department’s press release for the arrest below.

The protest was also part of widespread demonstrations on Saturday, and it’s just the latest in actions targeting Musk’s electric vehicle (EV) company, some of which have included acts of vandalism, graffiti, arson, and even the use of weapons on Tesla storefronts.

Multiple other protests were also captured in footage on Saturday, including one in Santa Rosa, California, as shared by the San Francisco Chronicle, and another attended by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in Austin, Texas. Still another was captured in New York City, and you can see footage from each of these protests below.

Tesla vandalism cases under investigation by FBI Seattle

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Musk sets a date for Starship trip to Mars with Optimus on board

Optimus could be the first humanoid to make it to Mars, and Musk has set a date for when he thinks it’ll happen.

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Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk has shared when he expects to take Starship to Mars for its first uncrewed mission, and he also says Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot will be on board for the flight.

On Friday, Musk wrote on X that SpaceX’s reusable Starship rocket will take Optimus to Mars at the end of 2026, with human landings expected to commence a few years later.

“Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus,” Musk said. “If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely.”

Last year, the SpaceX and Tesla head also expectations that SpaceX would be able to begin uncrewed launches in 2016, with early launches including both Optimus and a Cybertruck unit.

Musk also followed up the announcement with a post on X on Saturday morning, noting that he expects SpaceX to launch more than 90 percent of Earth’s payload mass to orbit this year. Meanwhile, he says China will make up just around 5 percent, while the rest of the world, including other parts of America, would also make up just 5 percent.

He also predicted that that number would go up even further to nearly 100 percent, once SpaceX’s reusable rocket is being launched more frequently.

“When Starship is launching at high rate, SpaceX will probably carry >99 percent of Earth’s payload mass to orbit. This is necessary to make Mars a self-sustaining civilization,” Musk added.

READ MORE ABOUT SPACEX’S STARSHIP: Texas awards SpaceX $17.3M grant to expand Bastrop tech hub

To be sure, Musk has been known to make ambitious claims about when his companies’ products would achieve certain milestones. For example, Musk predicted in 2018 that SpaceX could launch a rocket to Mars with humans aboard by 2024, though SpaceX only began testing the company’s reusable Starship in 2023.

Still, the company has been routinely testing Starship since then, and with increasing frequency, and in October, SpaceX performed the first catch of the Starship’s Super Heavy booster after liftoff to demonstrate the concept that a reusable rocket could be possible. In a launch earlier this month, SpaceX again successfully caught the Super Heavy Booster, though it lost the upper stage to a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” effectively meaning that it had exploded in air and showered surrounding areas with rocket parts.

The explosion was the second consecutive launch in which debris from Starship reigned down, highlighting the continued importance of testing as SpaceX aims to make the rocket a viable product for reusable space travel.

On Friday, SpaceX also launched its Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) to rescue astronauts that have been stuck on the orbital craft, after a Boeing launch was originally intended to bring them back to Earth. While SpaceX attempted to rescue the two astronauts in September, issues with the Starliner craft’s thrusters discovered upon arrival made NASA hold off on approving the return mission.

SpaceX completes a new first with recent Falcon 9 launch

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