Tesla sees drop in buyer interest, survey says – we might know why
A new survey shows a significant drop in consumer interest in buying Tesla vehicles, and we might know the reason why.
Kelley Blue Book has released its latest Brand Watch survey, and the company claims that it points to “plummeted” shopper interest in Tesla vehicles:
Meanwhile, shopper interest in Tesla plummeted quarter over quarter. Tesla fell to sixth from fifth in the rankings of most-shopped luxury brands, with 12% of all luxury shoppers considering a Tesla – down 3 percentage points from Q2 2022 and notably the largest quarter-over-quarter loss for any luxury brand. Shopping consideration for the Model 3 sedan declined by 10% from the second quarter, and the Tesla Model Y and Model S both fell off the Top 10 most-shopped luxury vehicle list for the first time in two years.
Despite the drop, the Tesla Model 3 remains the third-most-desired vehicle, according to the survey.
The Model 3 is also number one in the luxury category based on the new survey.
But, the more expensive Model Y had a somewhat significant drop in interest in the United States, and that might be explained by the fact that the SUV is expected to qualify for the new federal tax credit starting in January.
While Tesla has dominated the EV market in the United States for years despite being at a disadvantage against other automakers who still had access to the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles, the impact of getting access back was expected to be felt more strongly as we get close to the new incentive.
Vanessa Ton, senior research and market intelligence manager at Cox Automotive, commented on the new report:
The third quarter also saw a noteworthy drop in consideration for Tesla, which could have been caused by a number of factors. Increased competition from other automakers offering more new electric vehicles, price hikes and a lack of new products all may have contributed to Tesla’s considerable decline. However, we have seen Tesla’s shopping numbers drop before and they always eventually rebound. It will be interesting to see if they rebound more slowly or quickly this time around.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was recently asked about allegations that Tesla is seeing demand going down, and the CEO reiterated that he doesn’t see demand being a problem for the foreseeable feature.
Electrek’s Take
I think demand slowing down at least some in the United States right now makes sense – especially for the Model Y, which should fully qualify for the tax credit.
Tesla has done extremely well without it, but it has a different effect when it is about to become available. People who would qualify for it will think twice about buying right now if it means that delivery could happen this year and they would miss out on $7,500 in tax credit.
But as Ton said, Tesla’s demand always bounces back, and this time, it should be a big one in the United States once the incentive is in place.
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Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!
We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.
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OpenAI is distancing itself from Robinhood‘s latest crypto push after the trading platform began offering tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe.
“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”
The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”
Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.
“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.
Robinhood offered 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to eligible EU users who signed up to trade stock tokens by July 7. The assets are issued under the EU’s looser investor restrictions via Robinhood’s crypto platform.
“This is about expanding access,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and GM of crypto. “The goal with tokenization is to let anyone participate in this economy.”
The episode highlights the dynamic between crypto platforms seeking to democratize access to financial products and the companies whose names and equity are being represented on-chain
U.S. users cannot access these tokens due to regulatory restrictions.
Despite the warnings, BYD continues introducing new discounts. On Wednesday, BYD’s luxury off-road brand began offering over 50% Huawei’s smart driving tech.
BYD introduces new discounts on smart driving tech
After BYD cut prices again in May, the China Automobile Manufacturers Association (CAMA) warned that the ultra-low prices are “triggering a new round of price war panic.”
Although they didn’t single out BYD, it was pretty obvious. BYD slashed prices across 22 of its vehicles by up to 34%, triggering several automakers to follow suit in China.
BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull, typically starts at about $10,000 (66,800 yuan). After the price cuts, the Seagull is listed at under $8,000 (55,800 yuan).
It doesn’t look like China’s EV leader plans to slow down anytime soon. Fang Cheng Bao, BYD’s luxury off-road brand, introduced new discounts on Huawei’s smart driving tech on Wednesday.
The limited-time offer cuts the price of Huawei’s Qiankun Intelligent Driving High-end Function Package to just 12,000 yuan ($1,700).
Buyers who order the smart driving tech in July will save over 50% compared to its typical price of 32,000 yuan ($4,500).
Earlier this year, Fang Chang Bao launched the Tai 3, its most affordable vehicle, starting at 139,800 yuan ($19,300). The Tai 3 is about the size of the Tesla Model Y, but costs about half as much.
The Tai 3 will spearhead a new sub-brand of electric SUVs following the more premium Bao 8 and Bao 5 hybrid SUVs.
BYD’s luxury off-road brand sold 18,903 vehicles last month, up 50% from May and 605% compared to last year. Fang Cheng Bao has now sold over 10,000 vehicles for three consecutive months.
The Chinese EV giant sold 382,585 vehicles in total in June, an increase of 12% from last year. In the first half of the year, BYD’s cumulative sales reached over 2.1 million, a YOY increase of 33%.
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