Tesla more than doubled Volkswagen’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales for the second quarter of 2021 in a single month. In June alone, Tesla sold more than 28,000 BEVs to Chinese customers, while VW managed to deliver just over 12,000 BEVs in Q2 as a whole.
Earlier today, Volkswagen announced its sales figures for the first half of 2021. Detailing a near tripling of sales in the first half of this year compared to the same timeframe in 2020, the German automaker is creating plenty of buzz and momentum moving forward. However, it is still lagging behind the giants of the BEV sector, and Tesla, in particular, is giving Volkswagen plenty of reasons to tread carefully in the Chinese market.
In early July, we reported that Tesla sold 28,138 vehicles in the domestic market in June, with over 5,000 Model 3 units being exported from China to other territories. It was a strong showing from the automaker, a potent display of continued demand for Tesla’s all-electric vehicles. It was a continuance of the strong sales figures that Tesla displayed in May when the company sold a total of 33,463 vehicles: 21,936 cars for the local market and 11,527 Model 3 for foreign territories through exports.
In Q2, Volkswagen sold only 12,041 cars in China. A lackluster showing for one of the automotive industry’s giants, this figure is slightly higher than a fifth of the over 53,700 units that Tesla sold in Q2 2021.
Volkswagen has put a special emphasis on the Chinese market in particular, especially with its BEV strategy. In mid-April, the company announced the launch of the ID.6, a crossover that was specifically designed for the Chinese market. The German automaker explicitly stated that this car would only be available in China as well, looking to infiltrate some of the demand that Tesla and GM have accumulated over the past several years.
ID.6 CROZZ by FAW and ID.6 X by SVW
However, the relatively slow adoption of VW’s electric vehicles in China has some analysts worried about the potential for a long-term slump. One analyst is Bernstein’s Arndt Ellinghorst, who wrote that “China EV buyers seem to be less impressed by the models’ software features and infotainment system,” in a note to investors last week, according to Fortune.
Tesla recorded its biggest quarter yet in Q2, delivering over 200,000 vehicles for the first time in its short history. Through the first half of 2021, Tesla has delivered 386,050 cars, with only a few thousand being Model S and Model X vehicles. The Model 3 and Model Y have continued the trend of dominance for Tesla worldwide, and other automakers are failing to keep up with the company’s lightning-quick pace.
Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.
The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:
Tesla Diner opened exactly 1 year ago. Inspiring that futuristic places like this exist.
It’s our highest usage Supercharger in the world: 21.2 GWh delivered in a year, 1.6k sessions/day.
Top 10 Superchargers by energy delivered: https://t.co/9YvJ8lw696 pic.twitter.com/koB3AUJHws
— Max (@MdeZegher) July 21, 2026
On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.
Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.
Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand
Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.
Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.
Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. Shares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.
Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.
However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.
S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.
Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.
At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.
Tesla’s long-standing saga regarding its door handles and a manual release has entered its latest chapter, and as a result, a big change is coming.
On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tesla’s petition that was seeking a defect investigation into roughly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles for an issue involving the emergency mechanical door release.
🚨 The NHTSA denied a petition from Tesla that would have thrown out concerns regarding its door handles.
NHTSA said Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect warranting an investigation. The agency said a rulemaking process would be a better strategy. pic.twitter.com/j6PzUBM1mT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 24, 2026
NHTSA said that Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect in the door handles or their emergency releases. Instead, the agency determined that it would rather solve the issue of the lack of labeling or location of emergency mechanical door releases and the federal safety rules that govern them.
Essentially, the NHTSA wants to create and enforce rules that would require automakers to make emergency door latch releases more clearly labeled in a car. Despite a Tesla having manual door releases on all four passenger doors, many people do not know they exist or how they work.
Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix
In recent times, Tesla has faced some criticism involving its door handles, specifically because some occupants have reported that they are unable to exit their vehicles after losing power. The door handles on a Tesla are electronically operated, but in the event that the 12V battery dies, there is a manual release that can be used.
The NHTSA only identified a single complaint involving the mechanical door releases: a 2022 Model 3 owner said the release was concealed and unlabeled after the vehicle lost power after a front-end collision. It has also already started to create a separate rulemaking process to make emergency door-egress systems more obvious.
It should be noted that all Teslas have mechanical emergency door releases, but they are placed in various locations as the vehicles have aged and been redesigned from year to year. Refer to the safety manual for your vehicle if you have any confusion about where the emergency releases are and how they work.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations
Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings
