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Tesla China’s slowdown in April sales eclipsed by mass Model 3 Long Range orders
Earlier this month, news broke that Tesla sales in China had dipped 64% in April despite a general recovery in the country’s electric vehicle segment. This piece of information was promptly promoted by Tesla bears as an alleged sign that the company’s China operations and its facilities such as Gigafactory Shanghai are poised for ruin. But as it turns out, a deeper dive into April’s data in China shows a much different story.
It is true that Tesla only sold 3,635 Model 3 in April, down over 50% from the 10,160 units that were sold in March. This was reflected by the numbers from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). What was not mentioned in these reports is that April’s sales numbers were vastly affected by two big factors: the impending price adjustment of the locally produced Standard Range Plus Model 3, and the upcoming introduction of the Long Range RWD Model 3.
Tesla received close to 15K orders in Apr, most of them were M3 LR, China media reports without naming sources.
— Moneyball (@DKurac) May 25, 2020
Apr sales low as SR customers decided to wait for price cut, while LR was not being produced yet. SRs produced in Apr expected to be sold this month, report concluded. pic.twitter.com/tkxgOCZAq5
China web media researcher @DKurac, who closely follows developments in the EV sector of China, has noted that April actually saw close to 15,000 orders for the Model 3 in April, and most of them were for the Long Range version. This information was shared on recent local media reports. This suggests that a significant number of Tesla buyers were actually waiting for the Long Range Model 3 RWD.
The Long Range Model 3 that’s produced at Gigafactory Shanghai, of course, only started deliveries this month. This means that while there were close to 15,000 orders for the vehicle in April, the vehicle’s sales would likely be reflected on May instead. But this is not all.
Apart from the arrival of the Model 3 Long Range RWD to the local market, Tesla China also adjusted the price of the Standard Range Plus Model 3 in early May to allow the vehicle to qualify for government incentives. As noted by Tesla community members in China, rumors of the impending price adjustment were abounding for some time, which meant that a lot of buyers who were planning on purchasing the Model 3 likely waited for the price reduction to take effect in May before buying the all-electric sedan.
Tesla China is yet to confirm if these numbers are accurate, but the company does seem to be heading towards well into the second quarter of 2020 with some momentum on its back. The electric car maker’s operations in China will likely be the difference-maker this Q2 2020, especially since Tesla’s US operations have been affected by the pandemic, while Gigafactory Shanghai has been ramping following a government-mandated shutdown in February.
Tesla recently received its largest order for the all-electric Semi from Einride, a Swedish transport service, for 500 units, a groundbreaking invoice to receive before the first deliveries begin.
Even more remarkable, Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli said in a recent interview that he expects his company to take delivery of all 500 — the entire order — before the end of 2027. He even expects to have 75 Tesla Semi units in the Einride fleet before the end of this year.
🚨 Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli on the Tesla Semi partnership:
TESLARATI Premium Membership
$19.99 USD“If we start with the Amazon announcement that we did earlier this year, that was on the back of having gone through a proving period together with them and proving out our technology. Then we took that next step in… pic.twitter.com/oazkXjwoig
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 28, 2026
Charli said the Tesla partnership was part of a broader push, along with its earlier partnership with Amazon. Einride is assisting Amazon with the use of its Saga AI platform, which helps eliminate questions about budgeting and forecasting for logistics companies.
The Semi, as well as Tesla’s production and subsequent delivery of the units to Einride, will help the company “to have a good supply of vehicles that we can deploy on the [Saga AI] platform,” Charli said. “Tesla is also a relationship we’ve had for a while, and as the Tesla Semi deliveries are firming up, we decided to do a larger commitment to that and deploy that on our platform.”
In its initial announcement, Einride said it anticipated taking delivery of the trucks over the next two years, but now it appears the company is expecting all 500 units within the next 16 months.
Built at a dedicated factory in Sparks, Nevada, the Tesla Semi has been perhaps the biggest and most intensive testing process the company has ever had for a single vehicle model. For the past several years, Tesla has been working with many companies, most notably Frito-Lay and PepsiCo, to gain knowledge on the performance on regional routes.
Tesla plans to launch the Semi officially on September 24, five months after production started ramping.
Additionally, drivers have said they are happy about the Semi’s performance and that its numerous safety and productivity features have made their jobs and routes much easier.
Tesla Cybercab is using a unique strategy for picking up the correct rider, which is a crucial part of ride-hailing to ensure people end up in the right place and are charged the correct price.
Cybercab will utilize an RGB strip in its front light bar that will illuminate in a variety of different colors to mark itself.
This identifying mark will also appear in the Robotaxi app, giving riders in the same location a notable distinction in an effort to avoid any confusion regarding who should get in each vehicle.
🚨 Tesla is using different light bar colors to help riders understand which vehicle is theirs
Pretty cool strategy pic.twitter.com/eGMpEMeRpc
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 27, 2026
Other ride-hailing services use similar strategies: Lyft and Uber rides are recognizable through driver identity, vehicle type and color, as well as license plate. Waymo will display the rider’s initials on top of the vehicle, letting them know that the specific vehicle for them has arrived.
Tesla’s strategy is unique and interesting, but there are some flaws. Cybercab’s main purpose is aimed toward being an autonomous ride for all, including those who have disabilities like being blind or even color blind.
Tesla will likely have something in the pipeline for those who cannot see colors or have limited vision. There will definitely be multiple ways to identify which vehicle is the one that “you” specifically ordered.
Cybercab is set to start giving public rides next Thursday, September 3, in Austin, as it announced a dedicated event last week and invited many members of the Tesla community.
Additionally, members of the public will be invited as well. Tesla has been offering employee rides in Cybercab for nearly two months.
Tesla has said goodbye to one customization option for its vehicles: the wrap service it launched several years ago.
After launching an in-house wrap service in August 2020 for the first time in China. In the U.S., it launched in October 2023. Tesla continued to expand the program and adjust it with better pricing and fewer options for the Cybertruck.
By December 2023, it was giving owners of the Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck the opportunity to give their vehicle a fresh look with a vinyl wrap.
Tesla revamps in-house vinyl wrap service with better pricing
It was only available in five locations: Costa Mesa, Oceanside, Santa Clara, West Covina, all in California, and Seattle, Washington.
However, Tesla made some big adjustments to its shop, and the wrap service is officially gone:
Tesla has made a LOT of changes to its online shop recently — price increases, price cuts, new options, and several products being removed entirely.
Some of the biggest increases are wheel covers. 👀
📈 PRICE INCREASES
• 2017-2023 | Model 3 Aero Wheel Cover — Style: Refresh…— Phoenix Self-Driving 🐦🔥 (@PhoenixFSD) August 25, 2026
Wraps are very popular across the Tesla lineup, especially since the company offers relatively few colors. Many choose to wrap their Teslas with interesting colors, patterns, or even finishes, turning their cars from glossy to satin or matte.
However, Tesla’s wrap service was so limited geographically that it never really had a chance to get off the ground or compete with local shops. Every area in the United States is now overflowing with detailing shops, mobile detailers, and other automotive specialists, many of whom perform wrap services.
Tesla’s service was confined to the Pacific time zone and only spanned across two states. It was never going to be something Tesla was a major competitor in, nor was it going to disrupt the wrapping industry. Now that the program has ended, it seems pretty ideal to believe it was always going to be a short-term thing.
Along with the wrap service, Tesla removed several other products, but nothing too crazy. The Model 3 Door Pocket and Cupholder Liners, the Model S 19″ Magnetite Wheel and Winter Tire Package, Model X/Y Ski/Snowboard Carrier for Hitch Rack, Tesla’s Electric Summer Party Tee, and the Electric Summer Tee were the other items the company totally eliminated from its online shop.
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