Tesla has extended its seven-year ultra-low-interest and five-year interest-free financing programs in China once more, pushing the offers through March 31, the end of the first quarter.

The move marks Tesla’s second extension of the program this year. The financing plan was first introduced on January 6 as a strategy aimed at offsetting higher ownership costs ahead of China’s planned 5% NEV purchase tax in 2026.

The original promotion was set to expire at the end of January but was extended to the end of February. This has now been extended again through March.

The repeated extensions reflect growing competitive pressure. Tesla’s 2025 retail sales in China totaled 625,698 units, representing a 4.78% year-on-year decline, as per data compiled by CNEV Post. That being said, this decline is partly caused by the Model Y’s changeover to its new variant in Q1 2025, which resulted in lower sales during the quarter. 

In early 2026, the Model Y also lost its position as China’s top-selling EV in January to Xiaomi’s YU7, though this was also a month when Tesla primarily exported vehicles to foreign territories, which pushed local delivery numbers lower.

During January 2026, Tesla China exported 50,644 vehicles, roughly 1.7 times higher than the same month a year ago and more than 15 times higher than December’s level.

Tesla’s financing push has not gone unanswered. BYD this week introduced its own seven-year low-interest plan across its Ocean lineup and Fang Cheng Bao sub-brand, also valid through March 31. Other competitors including NIO, XPeng, Li Auto, and Geely Auto have already rolled out extended-term loan programs as well.

Tesla’s delivery wait times in China have dropped to some of their shortest levels in years, an apparent hint that Giga Shanghai has largely cleared its order backlog and currently has strong production capacity.

As of February 26, estimated delivery times for all variants of the Model 3 and Model Y in China were listed at just one to three weeks, as per observations of Tesla China’s official webpages by CNEV Post. 

That marks a notable shift from the several-week or even two-month waits seen late last year.

The one-to-three-week delivery window suggests that Giga Shanghai is likely focusing on the local market, at least for now as the company enters the final month of the first quarter. Tesla China typically spends the first half of the quarter catering to markets that import vehicles from Giga Shanghai. 

Historically, when Tesla’s wait times in China compress to their shortest levels, the company often follows with fresh market actions.

In past cycles, shortened delivery timelines were followed by promotional activity. After delivery windows narrowed to one to three weeks in early 2024, for example, Tesla later introduced an RMB 10,000 instant discount on Model Y final payments that year.

To spur local demand, Tesla recently extended its seven-year ultra-low-interest and five-year interest-free financing offers through March 31. This marks the second extension of the policy this year.

So far, posts from the Tesla community suggest that interest in the company’s vehicles among consumers in China is still strong. Videos of busy delivery centers across China have been shared on social media.

China’s competitive EV landscape has evolved as of late. With regulators discouraging aggressive price wars, automakers are increasingly leaning on financing incentives instead of direct price cuts. Major players including BYD, NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto have introduced similar loan extensions and promotional financing packages.

Tesla has confirmed the date when its newest Cybertruck trim level will increase in price, after CEO Elon Musk noted that the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the all-electric pickup would only be priced at its near-bargain level for ten days.

Last week, Tesla launched the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck. Priced at $59,990, the Cybertruck featured many excellent features and has seemingly brought some demand to the pickup, which has been underwhelming in terms of sales figures over the past couple of years.

Tesla launches new Cybertruck trim with more features than ever for a low price

When Tesla launched it, many fans and current owners mulled the possibility of ordering it. However,  Musk came out and said just hours after launching the pickup that Tesla would only keep it at the $59,990 price level for ten days.

What it would be priced at subsequently was totally dependent on how much demand Tesla felt for the new trim level, which is labeled as a “Dual Motor All-Wheel-Drive” configuration.

Tesla has officially revealed that this price will only be available until February 28, as the company has placed a banner atop the Design Configurator on its website reflecting this:

NEWS: Tesla has officially announced that the price of the new Cybertruck Dual-Motor AWD will be increasing after February 28th. pic.twitter.com/vZpA521ZwC

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 24, 2026

Many fans and owners have criticized Tesla’s decision to unveil a trim this way, and then price it at something, only to change that price a few days later based on how well it sells.

Awful way to treat customers – particularly when they already sent out a marketing email announcing the $59,990 truck…with zero mention of it being a limited-time offer.

— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) February 24, 2026

It seems the most ideal increase in price would be somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000, but it truly depends on how many orders Tesla sees for this new trim level. The next step up in configuration is the Premium All-Wheel-Drive, which is priced at $79,990.

The difference between the Dual Motor AWD Cybertruck and the Premium AWD configuration comes down to towing, interior quality, and general features. The base package is only capable of towing up to 7,500 pounds, while the Premium can handle 11,000 pounds. Additionally, the seats in the Premium build are Vegan Leather, while the base trim gets the textile seats.

It also has only 7 speakers compared to the 15 that the Premium trim has. Additionally, the base model does not have an adjustable ride height, although it does have a coil spring with an adaptive damping suspension package.