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Tesla clashes with Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo over Model 3 promo
Tesla and Chinese e-commerce Giant Pinduoduo are not seeing eye to eye over a recent group buying promotion that the latter company ran for the electric car company’s Model 3 sedan.
In July, Pinduoduo offered a group buying flash sale alongside Chinese car deal Yiauto. The sale gave five randomly selected buyers of the Model 3 a 40,000 yuan, or $5,770 discount on the purchase of the vehicle if at least 10,000 people signed up for the promotional campaign.
However, a statement from Tesla on its Weibo page stated that Pinduoduo and Yiauto’s promotion was not approved by the automaker and did not sell vehicles to the company for the event. Tesla noted that Pinduoduo was conducting the payment of the vehicle after speaking with a buyer. The electric car maker based in California determined that the promotion violated its terms regarding the resale of its cars, and terminated the order.
“If consumers have any disputes or damages to their rights due to the above group buying activities, our company will not bear any responsibility,” Tesla said in the posting on its Weibo account, the South China Morning Post reported.
In a quote to the South China Morning Post, the company said, “Tesla China has publicly stated on multiple channels that the official Tesla website is the only formal purchase channel for new cars, and it has never commissioned other platforms or merchants to conduct sales activities.”
Reports indicate that Pinduoduo nor Yiauto had purchased the vehicles up front, chosen the winners of the contest, and then delivered the cars. Instead, the companies ordered the vehicles through Tesla’s website using personal information that the promo’s signees provided when entering the contest.
A Tesla sales representative denied one winner of the contest delivery of a Model 3 after media outlets started to report on Pinduoduo’s campaign.
“We found that the customer’s car purchase order on the official website was not operated by himself/herself, but by Pinduoduo, which used the customer’s personal information to place the order,” also said to the Post in a statement on August 17.
Pinduoduo said that it is disappointed in Tesla’s decision because the carmaker has “made it difficult for some of their fans to get their dream car.”
However, a Hangzhou-based lawyer named Zhang Yanlai states that what Pinduoduo did diverted Tesla’s sales channel negatively. “Tesla has always insisted on a direct sales model, but the intervention of third parties has affected its one-to-one sales channel and diverted its user traffic,” Yanlai said.
Yanlai does not believe that Pinduoduo’s promo showed malicious intent to gain a profit from the sale of Tesla’s vehicles. “It is difficult to say the deal constituted a violation,” he said.
Chinese news site iFeng stated that Pinduoduo might be considering a lawsuit against Tesla, but nothing has been confirmed as of the time of writing.
Pinduoduo is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world, with over 628 million active buyers. The company uses subsidy programs and promotional campaigns to attract more users in China’s premium segment, which is dominated by Alibaba, another online commerce company.
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Tesla Diner to transition to full-service restaurant as Chef heads for new venture
“I am leaving the Tesla Diner project to focus on the opening of Mish, my long-desired Jewish deli. Projects like Mish and the Tesla Diner require a sharpness of focus and attention, and my focus and attention is now squarely on Mish.”
Tesla Diner, the all-in-one Supercharging and dining experience located in Los Angeles, will transition to a full-service restaurant in January, staff said, as Chef Eric Greenspan said he would take on a new project.
A report from the Los Angeles Times says Greenspan confirmed through a text that he would leave the Diner and focus on the opening of his new Jewish deli, Mish.
Greenspan confirmed to the paper:
“I am leaving the Tesla Diner project to focus on the opening of Mish, my long-desired Jewish deli. Projects like Mish and the Tesla Diner require a sharpness of focus and attention, and my focus and attention is now squarely on Mish.”
Greenspan took on the job at the Tesla Diner and curated the menu back in March, focusing on locally-sourced ingredients and items that would play on various company products, like Cybertruck-shaped boxes that hold burgers.
Tesla Cybertruck leftovers are the main course at the Supercharger Diner
The Tesla Diner has operated as somewhat of a self-serve establishment, where Tesla owners can order directly from their vehicles through the center touchscreen. It was not exclusive to Tesla owners. Guests could also enter and order at a counter, and pick up their food, before sitting at a booth or table.
However, the report indicates Tesla is planning to push it toward a sit-down restaurant, full of waiters, waitresses, and servers, all of which will come to a table after you are seated, take your order, and serve your food.
It will be more of a full-featured restaurant experience moving forward, which is an interesting move from the company, but it also sounds as if it could be testing for an expansion.
We know that Tesla is already considering expanding locations, as it will be heading to new areas of the country. CEO Elon Musk has said that Tesla will be considering locations in Palo Alto near the company’s Engineering HQ, and in Austin, where its HQ and Gigafactory Texas are located.
Musk said that the Diner has been very successful in its first few months of operation.
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Tesla adds new surprising fee to Robotaxi program
“Additional cleaning was required for the vehicle after your trip. A fee has been added to your final cost to cover this service. Please contact us if you have any questions.”
Tesla has added a new and somewhat surprising fee to the Robotaxi program. It’s only surprising because it was never there before.
Tesla shocked everyone when it launched its Robotaxi platform and offered riders the opportunity to tip, only to tell them they do not accept tips. It was one of the company’s attempts at being humorous as it rolled out its driverless platform to people in Austin.
As it has expanded to new cities and been opened to more people, as it was yesterday to iOS users, Tesla has had to tweak some of the minor details of the Robotaxi and ride-hailing platforms it operates.
First Look at Tesla’s Robotaxi App: features, design, and more
With more riders, more vehicles, and more operational jurisdictions, the company has to adjust as things become busier.
Now, it is adjusting the platform by adding “Cleaning Fees” to the Robotaxi platform, but it seems it is only charged if the vehicle requires some additional attention after your ride.
The app will communicate with the rider with the following message (via Not a Tesla App):
“Additional cleaning was required for the vehicle after your trip. A fee has been added to your final cost to cover this service. Please contact us if you have any questions.”
The cost of the cleaning will likely depend on how severe the mess is. If you spill a soda, it will likely cost less than if you lose your lunch in the back of the car because you had a few too many drinks.
This is an expected change, and it seems to be one that is needed, especially considering Tesla is operating a small-scale ride-hailing service at the current time. As it expands to more states and cities and eventually is available everywhere, there will be more situations that will arise.
The messes in vehicles are not a new situation, especially in a rideshare setting. It will be interesting to see if Tesla will enable other fees, like ones for riders who request a ride and do not show up for it.
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Tesla Model Y sold out in China for 2025
Customers who wish to get their cars by the end of the year would likely need to get an inventory unit.
It appears that the Model Y has been sold out for 2025 in China. This seems to be true for the four variants of the vehicle that are currently offered in the country.
Tesla China’s order page update
A look at Tesla China’s order page for the Model Y shows a message informing customers that those who wish to guarantee delivery by the end of the year should purchase an inventory unit. This was despite the Model Y RWD and Model Y L showing an estimated delivery timeline of 4-8 weeks, and the Model Y Long Range RWD and Model Y Long Range AWD showing 4-13 weeks.
As per industry watchers, these updates on the Model Y’s order page suggest that Tesla China’s sales capacity for the remainder of 2025 has been sold out. The fact that estimated delivery timeframes for the Model Y Long Range RWD and AWD extend up to 13 weeks also bodes well for demand for the vehicle, especially given strong rivals like the Xiaomi YU7, which undercuts the Model Y in price.
Tesla China’s upcoming big updates
What is quite interesting is that Tesla China is still competing in the country with one hand partly tied behind its back. So far, Tesla has only been able to secure partial approval for its flagship self-driving software, FSD, in China. This has resulted in V14 not being rolled out to the country yet. Despite this, Tesla China’s “Autopilot automatic assisted driving on urban roads,” as the system is called locally, has earned positive reviews from users.
As per Elon Musk during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, however, Tesla is expecting to secure full approval for FSD in China in early 2026. “We have partial approval in China, and we hopefully will have full approval in China around February or March or so. That’s what they’ve told us,” Musk said.
Tesla Diner to transition to full-service restaurant as Chef heads for new venture
Tesla adds new surprising fee to Robotaxi program
