Tesla’s Shanghai factory is gearing up to export Model Y SUVs to Canada, Reuters reported on Monday. Tesla Canada’s website over the weekend posted a new, cheaper version of the Model Y. This would be the first time Tesla has exported Chinese-built vehicles to North America. The company has been sending Shanghai Model Ys to Europe and other markets.
Meanwhile, new data shows Tesla’s EV market share in California dropped during the first quarter, despite price cutting. (Check out the California EV sales data here.)
Taken together, the Shanghai-to-Canada export plan and the California sales data amplify questions about whether Tesla has built more production capacity than it needs to satisfy near-term demand.
Tesla shares are down 20% so far this month. Much of that drop has happened since Elon Musk declared last week he’s prepared to keep cutting prices as necessary to accelerate sales growth. (Specifically, Musk said Tesla will adjust to find the market-clearing price – which sometimes means prices will go up. )
Not so long ago, Tesla’s Shanghai factory was straining to fill customer orders in China. Now, like other Chinese EV makers, Tesla Shanghai is looking abroad for enough customers to keep the assembly line running at full speed.
Is this a problem for automakers in the North American market? You bet.
The shift to EVs could render a third of North America’s combustion vehicle factories unnecessary, the consultancy Berylls concluded in a recent study.
Auto plants in Europe and North America will face more pressure as automakers keep low-cost factories in China running by putting vehicles on ships – as Ford also is doing with a Chinese-made Lincoln SUV.
