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Tesla China steps up marketing on Model 3 as competition heats up

Twitter: @Tesla__Mania

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Tesla China is evidently stepping up its marketing campaign for the Model 3 as competition in the country becomes more robust. While the Model 3 was the most popular EV in China in 2020, there is a healthy stream of competition as 2021 rolls around, and Tesla is sharing official company videos of the updates it made to its most popular sedan as a way to convince car buyers to purchase their vehicles over others.

Tesla refreshed the Model 3 in late 2020, adding several new features like the highly-popular chrome delete look, a power liftgate, a new center console, wireless charging, and metal steering wheel scroll wheels. Tesla’s most popular car required a slight update, and Tesla took it to the next level with several cosmetic and functional fixes that won over many members of the community.

While the Tesla-loyal followers shared the updates on social media as they were recognized, the company is now taking the operation into its own hands, and @Tesla__Mania on Twitter showed that its Chinese sector has produced a new video that officially reveals all of the changes.

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While the details have been public knowledge for some time, Tesla could be recognizing that Chinese competition is robust as the country holds the world’s largest automotive market. The Model 3 was China’s most popular EV in 2020, but it didn’t lead every month. In November, the GM-built Wuling HongGuang Mini EV was the most popular electric car in the country. It sold 33,094 units, while the Model 3 took second, but lagged behind by nearly 11,500 units, the EV Sales Blog says.

While Tesla still dominated the overall EV market share with 11% from Model 3 alone, there is still room for improvement, which fits the company’s theme of constant growth. China, in many ways, is looked at as Tesla’s key to global domination in the electric vehicle transition because of its massive market. With so many cars in China on the road on a daily basis, if Tesla can find a way to tap into its market with affordability and next-level tech, the automaker can hold global domination moving forward, just like it has for years.

Even though Tesla does not have an advertising campaign or has ever invested in expensive TV commercials, it has taken a slightly different approach in China compared to the U.S. The company launched a “driving school,” fit with a DJ and showroom parties in 2019.

In the U.S., Tesla has launched a few videos of some of its vehicle features, but it has always shied away from an explicit advertising campaign. In fact, before the company’s most recent Shareholder Meeting on September 22, 2020, one of the seven key agenda items had to do with launching a paid advertising effort. The board’s recommendations stated it was “against” the effort. Musk also said that money that would be spent on advertising should go back into the product, and it seems that, in the big picture, Tesla really has no intentions of changing that.

Regardless, a few short videos of the Model 3’s new features might let some of the less-aware consumers see what the advantages of driving a Tesla are. In turn, it could lead to a more robust market share in China moving forward. As the Model Y also ramps up production and Tesla prepares for deliveries, the company is sitting pretty for the future. It even plans to release some “China-inspired” designs in the coming years and is looking to hire a design director to take charge of the project.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Elon Musk: Self-sustaining city on Mars is plausible in 25-30 years

Musk noted that true self-sufficiency requires Mars to develop “all the ingredients of civilization.”

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Credit: Elon Musk/X

Elon Musk has stated that a self-sustaining human settlement on Mars could be established in 25-30 years, provided launch capacity increases dramatically in the coming decades. 

Speaking at the All-In Summit, the SpaceX CEO said building a self-sufficient colony depends on exponential growth in “tonnage to Mars” with each launch window, highlighting Starship’s role as the company’s pathway to interplanetary initiatives.

Mars settlement goals

Musk noted that true self-sufficiency requires Mars to develop “all the ingredients of civilization,” from food production to microchip manufacturing. Starship Version 3 is expected to support the first uncrewed Mars test flights, while future iterations could reach 466 feet in height and deliver larger payloads critical for settlement. Ultimately, Musk stated that an aggressive timeline for a city on Mars could be as short as 30 years, as noted in a Space.com report.

“I think it can be done in 30 years, provided there’s an exponential increase in the tonnage to Mars with each successive Mars transfer window, which is every two years. Every two years, the planets align and you can transfer to Mars. 

“I think in roughly 15, but maybe as few as 10, but 10-15-ish Mars transfer windows. If you’re seeing exponential increases in the tonnage to Mars with each Mars transfer window, then it should be possible to make Mars self-sustaining in about call it roughly 25 years,” Musk said. 

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Starship’s role

Starship has flown in a fully stacked configuration ten times, most recently in August when it completed its first payload deployment in orbit. The next flight will close out the Version 2 program before transitioning to Starship Version 3, featuring Raptor 3 engines and a redesigned structure capable of lifting over 100 tons to orbit.

While SpaceX has demonstrated Super Heavy booster reuse, Ship reusability remains in development. Musk noted that the heat shield is still the biggest technical hurdle, as no orbital vehicle has yet achieved rapid, full reuse.

“For full reusability of the Ship, there’s still a lot of work that remains on the heat shield. No one’s ever made a fully reusable orbital heat shield. The shuttle heat shield had to go through nine months of repair after every flight,” he said. 

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Tesla Model Y may gain an extra 90 miles of range with Panasonic’s next-gen battery

The Japanese company is pursuing an anode-free design.

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Credit: Tesla Manufacturing

Panasonic is developing a new high-capacity EV battery that could potentially extend the range of a Tesla Model Y by 90 miles. 

The Japanese company, one of Tesla’s key battery suppliers, is pursuing an anode-free design that it says could deliver a “world-leading” level of capacity by the end of 2027.

Panasonic’s anode-free design

The technology Panasonic is pursuing would eliminate the anode during the manufacturing process, as noted in a Reuters report. By freeing up space for more active cathode materials such as nickel, cobalt, and aluminum, the Japanese company expects a 25% increase in capacity without expanding battery size. 

That could allow Tesla’s Model Y to gain an estimated 145 kilometers (90 miles) of additional range if equipped with a battery that matches its current pack’s size. At the same time, Panasonic could use smaller, lighter batteries to achieve the Model Y’s current range. 

Panasonic also aims to reduce reliance on nickel, which remains one of the more costly raw materials. A senior executive previewed the initiative to reporters ahead of a scheduled presentation by Panasonic Energy’s technology chief, Shoichiro Watanabe.

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Tesla implications

The breakthrough, if achieved, could strengthen Panasonic’s position as Tesla’s longest-standing battery partner at a time when the automaker is preparing to enter an era of extreme scale driven by high-volume products like the Cybercab and Optimus.

Elon Musk has stated that products like Optimus would be manufactured at very high scale, so it would likely be an all-hands-on-deck situation for the company’s suppliers.

Panasonic did not share details on production costs or how quickly the new batteries might scale for commercial applications. That being said, the Japanese supplier has long been a partner of Tesla, so it makes sense for the company to also push for the next generation of battery innovation while the EV maker pursues even more lofty ambitions.

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Tesla called ‘biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen’ by Yale associate dean

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is being called “the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen” by Yale School of Management Senior Associate Dean Jeff Sonnenfeld, who made the comments in a recent interview with CNBC.

Sonnenfeld’s comments echo those of many of the company’s skeptics, who argue that its price-to-earnings ratio is far too high when compared to other companies also in the tech industry. Tesla is often compared to companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft when these types of discussions come up.

Fundamentally, yes, Tesla does trade at a P/E level that is significantly above that of any comparable company.

However, it is worth mentioning that Tesla is not traded like a typical company, either.

Here’s what Sonnenfeld said regarding Tesla:

“This is the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen. Even at its peak, Amazon was nowhere near this level. The PE on this, well above 200, is just crazy. When you’ve got stocks like Nvidia, the price-earnings ratio is around 25 or 30, and Apple is maybe 35 or 36, Microsoft around the same. I mean, this is way out of line to be at a 220 PE. It’s crazy, and they’ve, I think, put a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”

Many analysts have admitted in the past that they believe Tesla is an untraditional stock in the sense that many analysts trade it based on narrative and not fundamentals. Ryan Brinkman of J.P. Morgan once said:

“Tesla shares continue to strike us as having become completely divorced from the fundamentals.”

Dan Nathan, another notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, recently turned bullish on the stock because of “technicals and sentiment.” He said just last week:

“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting.”

Nathan said Tesla shares show signs of strength moving forward, including holding its 200-day moving average and holding against current resistance levels.

Sonnenfeld’s synopsis of Tesla shares points out that there might be “a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

This could refer to different things: perhaps his recent $1 billion stock buy, which sent the stock skyrocketing, or the fact that many Tesla investors are fans and owners who do not buy and sell on numbers, but rather on news that Musk might report himself.

Tesla is trading around $423.76 at the time of publication, as of 3:25 p.m. on the East Coast.

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