News
Tesla Model Y’s complete lineup now qualifies for EV tax credits through Inflation Reduction Act
Tesla’s complete lineup of Model Y trim levels now qualifies for electric vehicle tax credits through the Inflation Reduction Act, as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has increased the applicable MSRP limit to $80,000 across each of the all-electric crossover’s configurations.
In December, the IRS released a list of vehicles that would qualify for the EV tax credit, effectively taking off $7,500 from the purchase price in the form of a tax break.
While the tax credit was revised and allowed automakers who had not been eligible for the tax credits due to previously-enforced sales caps of 200,000 units, it still had its flaws.
Vehicles like the five-seat configurations of the Model Y were 238 pounds too light to be considered SUVs and, thus, did not qualify for the tax break because it fell into the category of “All Other” vehicles. Qualifying SUVs had an $80,000 MSRP limit, while “All Other” vehicles had a $55,000 limit.
This sent Tesla fans and its CEO Elon Musk into a spell of confusion, as the tax credit, which was used to incentivize the purchase of sustainable powertrains, still included various gas-powered hybrid models.
-->According to a report from Bloomberg, the U.S. Treasury Department said it would broaden the definition of an SUV. This would cause the government to revise its MSRP limits on certain Model Y vehicles that previously did not qualify for the credit.
“The change will allow crossover vehicles that share similar features to be treated consistently,” a report from the publication said.
The IRS has already updated the qualifying vehicles list on its website, with Tesla having each of its Model Y configurations now qualifying for the credit, as they are now considered SUVs in the government’s eyes.
Credit: IRS
The tax credit changes come just a week after Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with several high-ranking officials in Washington D.C. last week to discuss EVs and “shared goals around electrification.”
One of the topics of the meeting was “the broader cause of electrification.” EV adoption has been a main point of emphasis for Tesla, and its influence on other car companies to also develop competitive electric vehicles has been a critical part of the country’s adoption of battery-powered cars.
The IRS invited consumers to comment on the tax credit program, and petitions were spread across the internet, garnering tens of thousands of signatures supporting a revision to the program.
-->Other new additions to the qualified vehicles list are the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Cadillac Lyriq, and Volkswagen ID.4, which will benefit from the program’s reclassification of SUVs and Crossovers.
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News
Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month.
Tesla’s sales momentum in China strengthened in November, with wholesale volumes rising to 86,700 units, reversing a slowdown seen in October.
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month. This was partly driven by tightened delivery windows, targeted marketing, and buyers moving to secure vehicles before changes to national purchase tax incentives take effect.
Tesla’s November rebound coincided with a noticeable spike in Model Y interest across China. Delivery wait times extended multiple times over the month, jumping from an initial 2–5 weeks to estimated handovers in January and February 2026 for most five-seat variants. Only the six-seat Model Y L kept its 4–8 week estimated delivery timeframe.
The company amplified these delivery updates across its Chinese social media channels, urging buyers to lock in orders early to secure 2025 delivery slots and preserve eligibility for current purchase tax incentives, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Tesla also highlighted that new inventory-built Model Y units were available for customers seeking guaranteed handovers before December 31.
This combination of urgency marketing and genuine supply-demand pressure seemed to have helped boost November’s volumes, stabilizing what had been a year marked by several months of year-over-year declines.
-->For the January–November period, Tesla China recorded 754,561 wholesale units, an 8.30% decline compared to the same period last year. The company’s Shanghai Gigafactory continues to operate as both a domestic production base and a major global export hub, building the Model 3 and Model Y for markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, among other territories.
Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Short, and was portrayed by Christian Bale.
Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation
For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.
Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.
While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.
Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.
In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.
Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.
It closed at $430.14 on Monday.
Tesla appears to be making a change to its exterior side repeater cameras, which are used for the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, and other features, like Sentry Mode.
The change appears to be a potential upgrade in preparation for the AI5 suite, which CEO Elon Musk said will be present on a handful of vehicles next year, but will not be widely implemented until 2027.
Currently, Tesla uses a Sony sensor lens with the model number IMX963, a 5-megapixel camera with better dynamic range and low-light performance over the past iteration in Hardware 3 vehicles. Cameras in HW3 cars were only 1.2 megapixels.
However, Tesla is looking to upgrade, it appears, as Tesla hacker greentheonly has spotted a new sensor model in its firmware code, with the model number IMX00N being explicitly mentioned:
Looks like Tesla is changing (upgrading?) cameras in (some?) new cars produced.
Where as HW4 to date used exterior cameras with IMX963, now they (might potentially) have something called IMX00N— green (@greentheonly) December 1, 2025
Sony has not announced any formal specifications for the IMX00N model, and although IMX963 has been used in AI4/HW4 vehicles, it only makes sense that Tesla would prepare to upgrade these external cameras once again in preparation for what it believes to be the second hardware iteration capable of fully autonomous self-driving.
Tesla has maintained that AI4/HW4 vehicles are capable of self-driving operation, but AI5 will likely help the company make significant strides, especially in terms of overall performance and data collection.
Tesla last updated its exterior cameras on its vehicles back in early 2023, as it transitioned to the 5-megapixel IMX963. It also added additional cameras to its vehicles in January with the new Model Y, which featured an additional lens on the front bumper to help with Full Self-Driving.
Tesla’s new self-driving computer (HW4): more cameras, radar, and more
Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
Tesla bear gets blunt with beliefs over company valuation
