Connect with us

News

Tesla starts Model 3 customer deliveries in China, formally launches Model Y program

Tesla CEO Elon Musk at Model Y program launch at Gigafactory 3 China (Source: @JaysoninShanghai | Twitter)

Published

on

Tesla officially opened the floodgates in China as it made its first mass delivery of locally-made Model 3 on Tuesday during an event at Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. The electric car maker also announced the kick-off of its Model Y program in the country.

CEO Elon Musk flew in from the United States to personally hand over Made-in-China Model 3s to the first local customers. This is a big milestone for Tesla as the MIC Model 3s are the first units delivered by Tesla’s first factory outside of the United States.

“Ultimately Model Y will have more demand than probably all of the other Tesla cars combined. Model Y will also have advanced manufacturing technologies that we will reveal in the future,” Musk said.

Musk also expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government, the Tesla China team, and all of the customers in the country.  At one point during the ceremonies, Musk even showed some dance moves and emphasized how the company knows how to have fun despite all the work that needs to be done. Musk also did not forget to thank the early adopters who paid a premium to own their Teslas.

During a speech at the event, the Tesla chief also disclosed plans to have a Tesla engineering center in China that will design vehicles for the local market and the rest of the globe.

Advertisement

With the kick-off of the Model Y program in China, Tesla now has a powerful one-two punch combination that can potentially deal heavy blows to other automotive giants operating in the country. The Model 3 sedans will attract those looking for an entry-level electric vehicle while the Model Y will appeal to those looking for an all-electric crossover that offers more space at a practical price.

Tesla will be facing no pushovers in the local market. Daimler has released the Mercedes-Benz EQC in China and sells it for about $83,100 while Audi has rolled out the e-tron in late 2019 and plans to introduce more green vehicles in the next 24 months. BMW is also planning to join the EV rumble with its iX3 crossover next year.

The first public MIC Model delivery event happened exactly one year after the first wholly-owned car factory by a foreigner in China broke ground. Gigafactory 3 achieved the amazing feat of producing its first vehicles in just 10 months and making a symbolic delivery to local Tesla employees before the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, the production of the Model Y alongside the Model 3 will not be an issue for Tesla since these vehicles share 75% of their parts. Tesla also started accepting Model Y orders a few days ago, an early indication that the electric car maker is ready for this move.

Earlier this week, Tesla confirmed that Gigafactory 3 has achieved a run-rate of 3,000 vehicles per week to meet Model 3 demand in China. The government has also been very supportive and has exempted the locally-made sedan from a 10% purchase tax as announced recently.

Advertisement

Shanghai-based analysts are optimistic with their forecast for Tesla in China. Managing director of consultancy firm AutoForesight Yale Zhang sees the Palo Alto, California-based electric vehicle manufacturer selling around 100,000 MIC Model 3s while China International Capital’s Wang Lei sees around 120,000 combined sales of Model 3 and Model Y.

With the Model 3 and Model Y entering the largest automotive market in the globe, Tesla can become a strong foothold for the brand as it aims to achieve sustained profitability.

Here’s are some snapshots from the event:

A curious soul who keeps wondering how Elon Musk, Tesla, electric cars, and clean energy technologies will shape the future, or do we really need to escape to Mars.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla is offering a crazy choice on Model 3 to help with end of quarter push

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla is offering a crazy choice on the Model 3 to help with its end-of-quarter push, but it is only available in Canada.

Tesla has been offering some pretty crazy incentives to help move vehicles in various markets, including discounts, Supercharging, and other offers.

In Canada, it is offering something pretty crazy: a $5,000 discount or Free Supercharging for life:

This would bring the price of the two Tesla Model 3 configurations:

  • Tesla Model 3 RWD – $49,990
  • Tesla Model 3 LRAWD – $56,990
  • Tesla Model 3 Performance – $64,990

The offer only stands if delivery is taken by September 30. The company describes the terms and conditions:

“Orders will default to $5,000 off total purchase price, deducted pre-tax. Requires you to contact Tesla to switch promotion to free Supercharging if desired. Supercharging promotion is tied to your Tesla Account and cannot be transferred to another vehicle, person or order, even in the case of ownership transfer. Used vehicles and vehicles used for commercial purposes (like taxi, rideshare and delivery services) are excluded from this promotion. You are still responsible for Supercharger fees, like idle and congestion fees, when applicable. Redeemable only at Tesla-owned Superchargers. Tesla reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove the free Supercharging from your vehicle in the event of excessive charging. “

The $5,000 discount in Canada, or the unlimited Free Supercharging, is a massive deal, as it benefits those looking for a deal or those who plan to use the car as a daily driver.

Tesla offers new deal on used inventory that you won’t want to pass up

Tesla has used a lot of different deals this quarter to help push cars out and bolster Q3 delivery figures.

  • Lifetime Free Supercharging or $5,000 discount on Model 3 in Canada
  • 1 Year Free Supercharging on Inventory Cybertruck, Model S, Model X in the U.S.
  • 18 Months free Supercharging on Model 3 in the U.S.
  • Lifetime Free Supercharging with Luxe Package on Model S and Model X in the U.S.
  • Up to $2,000 off Model 3 and Model Y Inventory in the U.S.

These deals have all contributed to an increase in demand and minimal vehicle inventory in various markets.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Wall Street firm makes shock move for Tesla Q3 delivery prediction

“[The company should have] strong deliveries in the US as Tesla pushes, and consumers take advantage of, the $7,500 IRA EV tax credit before its expiry at the end of September 2025.” 

Published

on

(Credit: Tesla)

A Wall Street firm is making a shocking move ahead of Tesla’s Q3 delivery report, increasing its forecast for the quarter.

Tesla is set to report its deliveries for the third quarter sometime next week at the beginning of October. There has been quite a bit of speculation about Tesla’s performance in terms of deliveries for the quarter, as many firms and investors are curious about how strong it could be.

There have been a few things working in Tesla’s favor, including the removal of the $7,500 EV tax credit, which stimulated demand as consumers wanted to take advantage of the discount before it was no longer available.

Tesla also has launched an attractive revamp to the Model Y this year, which was the best-selling car in the world for the past two years. These two points have helped Tesla with demand specifically this year, but this quarter has been especially strong because of the tax credit phase-out.

With that being said, one Wall Street firm chose to push its delivery prediction for the third quarter up about ten percent.

Tesla makes a big change to reflect new IRS EV tax credit rules

UBS analysts said they adjusted their delivery targets for Tesla from 431,000 to 475,000, stating it was “more in line with buyside expectations in the 470-475k range.”

The firm continued:

“[The company should have] strong deliveries in the US as Tesla pushes, and consumers take advantage of, the $7,500 IRA EV tax credit before its expiry at the end of September 2025.” 

If it manages to reach what UBS thinks it will, deliveries would be the highest for Tesla since late 2024, and the firm believes it could “potentially [be] the highest ever” for the company in a single quarter.

Tesla delivered over 495,000 cars in Q4 2024, so it would truly need an anomaly to capture that crown in Q3.

For the full year, UBS believes Tesla will deliver 1.62 million cars in 2025.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla’s ‘Unboxed Process’ patent highlights affordability through efficiency

The process includes utilizing past methods that Tesla has brought into automotive manufacturing, including Gigacasting and structural battery integration, with more efficient “post-manufacturing” processes, like pre-painting. 

Published

on

Credit: Teslarati

Tesla has been granted a new patent for its “Unboxed Process” of manufacturing, which aims to enhance affordability for customers by increasing efficiency at the manufacturing stage.

This is one way the company aims to create a larger impact from start to finish, especially with upcoming vehicles. For those who are not familiar, the Unboxed Process was first unveiled by Tesla back in 2023 during its “Investor Day.”

The company brought forth the idea that vehicle manufacturing could shift from traditional assembly lines, making production more efficient, more cost-effective, and more scalable for the future, especially with mass-market models like Cybercab.

The process includes utilizing past methods that Tesla has brought into automotive manufacturing, including Gigacasting and structural battery integration, with more efficient “post-manufacturing” processes, like pre-painting.

Tesla describes the main advantages in the patent:

“The present disclosure relates to an automated system and method for assembling exterior vehicle parts to a vehicle assembly structure. The system utilizes an automated assembly cell with fixtures corresponding to each exterior vehicle part and references a global datum for precise alignment…The method improves assembly efficiency by compensating for substructure irregularities with an engineered adhesive gap and allows for continued assembly during adhesive curing through tacking operations.”

Instead of traditional welding strategies, the company plans to use a different bonding method, through adhesives.

The patent goes on:

“In described examples, a modular vehicle architecture allows for the assembly of a vehicle in sections, which are then joined in a final assembly operation. This approach eliminates the traditional need for welding stamped panels and applying secondary coatings or painting at the full vehicle assembly level. Instead, the vehicle can be constructed in parts, with metal surface treatments like e-coating and painting applied beforehand.”

The goal behind this manufacturing process is that Tesla will be able to build more vehicles at a faster rate for a lower price, something it believes it will need to accomplish as it addresses autonomy and Robotaxis, which are in higher demand.

With this rate of speed of manufacturing, Tesla says traditional manufacturing methods have the potential consequence of “compounding errors,” as “any slight misalignment or variance can add up.”

There is a refined focus on efficiency, while also recognizing the importance of build quality. This should eliminate most of the issues Tesla would confront with its current, more traditional, linear manufacturing processes.

Continue Reading

Trending