Tesla China opened the second quarter of 2024 with a batch of exports and ~1,900 domestic registrations. In the second week of April 2024, Tesla China saw more insurance registrations, though they still presented a decline compared to the figures from the same period in 2023.
Industry watchers have noted that Tesla China saw 6,000 new vehicle registrations during the week of April 8-14, 2024. This represents a 214% increase week-over-week from the ~1,900 vehicles that were registered in the week of April 1-7, but it also represents a 25.7% decrease quarter-over-quarter. Year-to-date, Tesla China’s insurance registrations are down over 9%.
China reported 6.0k Tesla insurance registrations for the week of April 8-14. ??
The quarter is -25.7% QoQ and -59.5% vs. 23Q2 the best quarter after 2 weeks. YTD is at -9.3% YoY. pic.twitter.com/LyJIBrKRDC— Roland Pircher (@piloly) April 16, 2024
Tesla China does not report its weekly domestic sales numbers, but a general idea of its overall performance in the local automotive sector can be inferred though new vehicle registrations. Fortunately, Tesla China’s new vehicle registrations are tracked by industry insiders. Some automakers like Li Auto have even taken it upon themselves to post insurance registration results on a relatively regular basis.
Tesla is seeing quite a lot of competition in China, especially from home-grown New Energy Vehicle (NEV) makers like BYD. The arrival of upstart vehicles like the Xiaomi SU7 has also made the domestic Chinese auto market even more competitive. To attract customers, Tesla China seems to be leaning into its vehicles’ affordability. This was hinted at in a program launched earlier this month, which offered low down payments and zero-interest loans for qualified customers.
$TSLA
Tesla China added more than 12k~13k new orders from the 8th to the 15th. After easing its preferential lending policy, orders have held steady.
(孙少军09 Weibo)— Tsla Chan (@Tslachan) April 16, 2024
“Can you believe that you can drive away a new Tesla with RMB 80,000 without any interest? The best-selling Model 3/Y has a daily payment of only RMB 154 at most, which is equivalent to the price of a hot pot meal. Change the car into a Tesla. The gas money can be spent on the monthly payment,” Tesla China wrote in its promotional post in Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Industry watchers in China have suggested that domestic customers have responded fairly positively to Tesla’s current promotions, with some claiming that the electric vehicle maker saw about 12,000 to 13,000 new orders for vehicles from April 8 to April 15. Whether these estimates are accurate or not would be evident in the coming weeks as the domestic customers who ordered their Teslas take delivery of their cars.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
News
Sweden blocks Tesla FSD-style testing in Stockholm
It looks like FSD testing in Sweden would have to wait some time.

Tesla is putting a lot of effort into getting its Full Self Driving (FSD) system approved in territories outside North America. But while China seems to have embraced FSD fully, other countries like Sweden do not seem to be receiving Tesla’s automated driving system very well.
This became quite evident in a document from Stockholm City, which has started making the rounds online.
FSD Testing Rejected
The document, which was initially shared by X user @KRoelandschap, indicated that the Swedish Traffic Department in Stockholm had rejected Tesla’s request to start FSD testing in the city’s streets. Tesla has been demonstrating FSD in several areas across Europe, so it is not surprising that the company is also attempting to test its automated driving system in Sweden.
Unfortunately for Tesla, Sweden might prove to be a tough nut to crack. As per the City of Stockholm:
“The Traffic Office is currently working on updating its approach to automation. At the same time, the city and the office are under heavy pressure from other ongoing innovation tests. Our ambition is to actively participate in and learn from the continued development in the field of automation.
“Based on this, and in combination with the fact that the current test is the first of its kind, which entails certain risks for both infrastructure and third parties, and that it is planned to be carried out throughout the city, the City of Stockholm considers it is currently not possible to approve the implementation of the test.”


Tesla’s Other Swedish Troubles
Sweden’s FSD testing rejection is not the only roadblock facing Tesla in the country. Since October 2023, Swedish unions have been engaged in an active effort to disrupt Tesla’s operations. The unions’ efforts have been varied, with some resulting in Tesla having difficulty launching more Superchargers in Sweden. Despite this, Tesla has remained stubborn and has refused to bow to the unions’ demands.
Fortunately for Tesla, it seems like its numbers are still strong. Despite the company’s decline in several European countries, the new Model Y is starting to see strong sales figures in Sweden. In early May alone, the new Model Y became the country’s most popular electric vehicle—a notable accomplishment considering the unions’ active efforts to disrupt Tesla.
News
Tesla firmware shows new Model Y seat configuration is coming
Tesla could be adding another seating configuration beside the seven-seater to the Model Y lineup later this year.

Tesla firmware has been a great place for some to reveal what the company has in the pipeline, and a new seating configuration for the best-selling Model Y looks to be on the way.
Last week, we reported that Tesla was already hinting toward a 7-seater configuration of the Model Y in a promotional email it sent to those on its contact list.
However, firmware revealed by Tesla hacker greentheonly is showing that a new seating configuration is on the way — a six-seater:
The much rumored about 6-seater Model Y made an appearance in the firmware.
Unlikely to be China-only as some of the speculations said.Some weird “slow down to save energy, people typically drive this much slower here to save %%” nav suggestions.
— green (@greentheonly) June 16, 2025
Green says the configuration would not be available in China-only, and will be potentially for sale in other markets as well.
The six-seat and seven-seat configurations of the Model Y were available in the Legacy version of the vehicle, but were met with mixed reviews, as many complained about the lack of legroom in the third row.
This was something that was a real concern for many of those owners who needed something larger than the traditional five-seat variant, but did not want to buy the much more pricey Model X.
We’ve covered the size of that third row on several occasions.
Some owners even took the idea of having a seven-seater into their own hands:
Tesla Model Y third row seat test explores options for a comfortable 7-seat setup
Tesla did not explicitly announce a six-seater configuration of the Model Y, but Lars Moravy, the company’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said the seven-seater would come to production later in 2025.
News
Tesla confirms massive hardware change for autonomy improvement
Tesla has confirmed that a recent change made to some of its recently refreshed vehicles is, in fact, a strategy it will use to improve its suite as it continues to work toward autonomy.

Tesla has confirmed that a recent change made to some of its recently refreshed vehicles is, in fact, a strategy it will use to improve its suite as it continues to work toward autonomy.
Tesla first introduced a front-facing camera on the front bumper with the Cybertruck.
Then, the Model Y “Juniper” received the hardware update. The Model S and Model X both received the front-facing camera with its latest update, which was officially revealed last week.
Tesla used new language with the release of the front-facing cameras on the Model S and Model X, confirming they will assist with several things, including “using Autopilot and Actually Smart Summon capabilities”:
“Enhanced visibility when parking or using Autopilot and Actually Smart Summon capabilities.”
This tiny feature on the new Tesla Model Y is perhaps its biggest addition
This is the first time Tesla has used this sort of language, as it was a completely different description with the launch of the new Model Y in January.
When Tesla launched this vehicle, it said the front bumper camera “provides a wider field of view for automatic assisted driving and advanced Smart Summon.”
Tesla switched from using cameras and sensors to only cameras with the launch of Tesla Vision several years ago. The company’s utilization of cameras comes from Tesla’s belief that Ultrasonic Sensors (USS) are not needed for self-driving efforts:
“Along with the removal of USS, we simultaneously launched our vision-based occupancy network – currently used in Full Self-Driving (FSD) (Supervised) – to replace the inputs generated by USS. With today’s software, this approach gives Autopilot high-definition spatial positioning, longer range visibility and the ability to identify and differentiate between objects. As with many Tesla features, our occupancy network will continue to improve rapidly over time.”
CEO Elon Musk has said that sensors were only a crutch and that self-driving would be solved through the use of cameras:
“When your vision works, it works better than the best human because it’s like having eight cameras, it’s like having eyes in the back of your head, beside your head, and has three eyes of different focal distances looking forward. This is — and processing it at a speed that is superhuman. There’s no question in my mind that with a pure vision solution, we can make a car that is dramatically safer than the average person.”
-
News1 week ago
I took a Tesla Cybertruck weekend Demo Drive – Here’s what I learned
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Elon Musk explains Tesla’s domestic battery strategy
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Tesla stock: Morgan Stanley says eVTOL is calling Elon Musk for new chapter
-
Elon Musk1 week ago
Tesla tops Cathie Wood’s stock picks, predicts $2,600 surge
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Elon Musk responds to Tesla Supercharger shutdown on NJ Turnpike
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla is missing one type of vehicle in its lineup and fans want it fast
-
News6 days ago
First Tesla driverless robotaxi spotted in the wild in Austin, TX
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
SpaceX to decommission Dragon spacecraft in response to Pres. Trump war of words with Elon Musk