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Tesla China momentum ‘a positive’ as company navigates new competition
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) had a strong showing in China in May, giving Deutsche Bank a reason to call the company’s performance “a positive” for the company moving forward. However, the Wall Street-based firm has convictions about Tesla’s performance moving forward, according to a new note to investors, as the company will likely face some pushback from Government action and new, local competition.
Figures from the Chinese Passenger Car Association (CPCA) revealed a strong performance in May for Tesla. The Model Y all-electric crossover led the charge ahead of its sibling Model 3 sedan. The numbers catalyzed a sigh of relief from Tesla investors, especially those who read The Information’s report claiming orders had halved to below 10,000 units collectively in China in May. The report was met with criticism and skepticism, including some words from CPCA Secretary General Cui Dongshu, who claimed that May orders wouldn’t have affected May sales figures. Dongshu was correct, as CPCA figures indicated a 29% increase in sales in May compared to April.
The CPCA figures alleviated many concerns, especially those of Deutsche Bank analysts, who revealed in a new note to investors this morning that the strong figures showed healthy demand in both China and Europe, along with hints that Tesla sold its entire Model 3 production capacity in the last two months.
Tesla China sales rise 30% in May, definitively debunks reports of weak demand
The note said (via David Tayar):
“We view May’s data as a positive for Tesla, not only disproving concerns around collapse in demand, but also showing that between local retail sales and exports, Tesla essentially sold its entire Model 3 production capacity in both April and May, and Model Y is ramping up fast in China.”
Deutsche Bank on Tesla/China ??
“We view May’s data as a positive for Tesla, not only disproving concerns around collapse in demand, but also showing that between local retail sales an exports, Tesla essentially sold its entire M3 production capacity in both April/May.”$TSLA pic.twitter.com/o0FMnw0uBG
— David Tayar (@davidtayar5) June 10, 2021
While The Information’s report attributed the weak order figures to “public outcry and government criticism,” Tesla is likely not facing too much of an issue with these two theories, at least for now. However, Deutsche Bank’s note also detailed some concerns that investors may have in the long-term spectacle of Tesla’s Chinese demand.
The firm wrote in its note:
“At the same time, it is unlikely completely eliminate investor concerns that consumer sentiment around Tesla could be losing momentum in China, partly as a result of government action, but also with the rise of local competition. In fact, the article from the Information was supposedly about new orders, rather than sales, so any weakness wouldn’t necessarily have been seen in May sales yet.”
Interestingly, this aligns with Dongshu’s comments about the Information’s report, where the CPCA executive said:
“Usually, monthly sales are accumulated units of orders over previous months, so the immediate results in May might not truly reflect whether the recently reported accidents have had any real impact on Tesla’s sales.”
Tesla has continued a tradition of being one of the most popular automakers in China since its introduction in the market in early 2020. Tesla was the most popular manufacturer in China in 2020, and the only car that has managed to outsell the Model 3 and Model Y is the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV that sells for only $5,000.
Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder
Elon Musk
Elon Musk confirms xAI’s purchase of five 380 MW natural gas turbines
The deal, which was confirmed by Musk on X, highlights xAI’s effort to aggressively scale its operations.
xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, has purchased five additional 380 MW natural gas turbines from South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility to power its growing supercomputer clusters.
The deal, which was confirmed by Musk on X, highlights xAI’s effort to aggressively scale its operations.
xAI’s turbine deal details
News of xAI’s new turbines was shared on social media platform X, with user @SemiAnalysis_ stating that the turbines were produced by South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility. As noted in an Asian Business Daily report, Doosan Enerbility announced last October that it signed a contract to supply two 380 MW gas turbines for a major U.S. tech company. Doosan later noted in December that it secured an order for three more 380 MW gas turbines.
As per the X user, the gas turbines would power an additional 600,000+ GB200 NVL72 equivalent size cluster. This should make xAI’s facilities among the largest in the world. In a reply, Elon Musk confirmed that xAI did purchase the turbines. “True,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
xAI’s ambitions
Recent reports have indicated that xAI closed an upsized $20 billion Series E funding round, exceeding the initial $15 billion target to fuel rapid infrastructure scaling and AI product development. The funding, as per the AI startup, “will accelerate our world-leading infrastructure buildout, enable the rapid development and deployment of transformative AI products.”
The company also teased the rollout of its upcoming frontier AI model. “Looking ahead, Grok 5 is currently in training, and we are focused on launching innovative new consumer and enterprise products that harness the power of Grok, Colossus, and 𝕏 to transform how we live, work, and play,” xAI wrote in a post on its website.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI closes upsized $20B Series E funding round
xAI announced the investment round in a post on its official website.
xAI has closed an upsized $20 billion Series E funding round, exceeding the initial $15 billion target to fuel rapid infrastructure scaling and AI product development.
xAI announced the investment round in a post on its official website.
A $20 billion Series E round
As noted by the artificial intelligence startup in its post, the Series E funding round attracted a diverse group of investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, and Baron Capital Group, among others.
Strategic partners NVIDIA and Cisco Investments also continued support for building the world’s largest GPU clusters.
As xAI stated, “This financing will accelerate our world-leading infrastructure buildout, enable the rapid development and deployment of transformative AI products reaching billions of users, and fuel groundbreaking research advancing xAI’s core mission: Understanding the Universe.”
xAI’s core mission
Th Series E funding builds on xAI’s previous rounds, powering Grok advancements and massive compute expansions like the Memphis supercluster. The upsized demand reflects growing recognition of xAI’s potential in frontier AI.
xAI also highlighted several of its breakthroughs in 2025, from the buildout of Colossus I and II, which ended with over 1 million H100 GPU equivalents, and the rollout of the Grok 4 Series, Grok Voice, and Grok Imagine, among others. The company also confirmed that work is already underway to train the flagship large language model’s next iteration, Grok 5.
“Looking ahead, Grok 5 is currently in training, and we are focused on launching innovative new consumer and enterprise products that harness the power of Grok, Colossus, and 𝕏 to transform how we live, work, and play,” xAI wrote.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock received a price target update from Pierre Ferragu of Wall Street firm New Street Research, citing the company’s growing lead in self-driving and autonomy.
On Tuesday, Ferragu bumped his price target from $520 to $600, stating that the consensus from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was that Tesla’s lead in autonomy has been sustained, is growing, and sits at a multiple-year lead over its competitors.
CES 2026 validates Tesla’s FSD strategy, but there’s a big lag for rivals: analyst
“The signal from Vegas is loud and clear,” the analyst writes. “The industry isn’t catching up to Tesla; it is actively validating Tesla’s strategy…just with a 12-year lag.”
The note shows that the company’s prowess in vehicle autonomy is being solidified by lagging competitors that claim to have the best method. The only problem is that Tesla’s Vision-based approach, which it adopted back in 2022 with the Model 3 and Model Y initially, has been proven to be more effective than competitors’ approach, which utilizes other technology, such as LiDAR and sensors.
Currently, Tesla shares are sitting at around $433, as the company’s stock price closed at $432.96 on Tuesday afternoon.
Ferragu’s consensus on Tesla shares echoes that of other Wall Street analysts who are bullish on the company’s stock and position within the AI, autonomy, and robotics sector.
Dan Ives of Wedbush wrote in a note in mid-December that he anticipates Tesla having a massive 2026, and could reach a $3 trillion valuation this year, especially with the “AI chapter” taking hold of the narrative at the company.
Ives also said that the big step in the right direction for Tesla will be initiating production of the Cybercab, as well as expanding on the Robotaxi program through the next 12 months:
“…as full-scale volume production begins with the autonomous and robotics roadmap…The company has started to test the all-important Cybercab in Austin over the past few weeks, which is an incremental step towards launching in 2026 with important volume production of Cybercabs starting in April/May, which remains the golden goose in unlocking TSLA’s AI valuation.”
Tesla analyst breaks down delivery report: ‘A step in the right direction’
Tesla has transitioned from an automaker to a full-fledged AI company, and its Robotaxi and Cybercab programs, fueled by the Full Self-Driving suite, are leading the charge moving forward. In 2026, there are major goals the company has outlined. The first is removing Safety Drivers from vehicles in Austin, Texas, one of the areas where it operates a ride-hailing service within the U.S.
Ultimately, Tesla will aim to launch a Level 5 autonomy suite to the public in the coming years.
Elon Musk confirms xAI’s purchase of five 380 MW natural gas turbines
Elon Musk’s xAI closes upsized $20B Series E funding round
