Tesla sales in China are relatively fine despite the added complexity of managing the production switch to the new Mode Y, Tesla’s best-selling model.

Model Y represents most of Tesla’s sales, and it is currently undergoing a design refresh that started with Gigafactory Shanghai, Tesla’s highest-producing factory.

The production shift will inevitably result in lower volumes this quarter, but the market is trying to track Tesla’s deliveries in China closely to see how much lower it will be.

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) has now released January sales volume and it reported that Tesla China sold 63,238 electric vehicles in January – including vehicles Tesla built in China and exported to overseas markets.

That’s down 11.5% from the same period last year and 32.5% compared to December.

While sales are down, those numbers are far from awful amid the Model Y changeover happening in China.

However, the impact is expected to be much more significant in February due to the Chinese New Year and Tesla is expected to shut down part of the Model Y production lines from January 22 to February 14.

This is going to result in lower inventory available in February and March.

We recently reported that Tesla has increased discounts on Model 3 vehicles. Model 3 is becoming more important this quarter amid the Model Y changeover.

Electrke’s Take

China is what is keeping Tesla going right now. Sales in Europe are falling off a cliff, and demand is also expected to be down in the US this quarter, but there’s still no data on it.

The new Model Y is having an impact everywhere, but Elon Musk’s meddling in politics and subsequent drop in reputation also has an effect, except in China, where they don’t care about that as much.

Elon could name his next kid “Adolf,” and it would probably not affect Tesla’s sales in China much.

On the other hand, this Model Y changeover at Gigafactory Shanghai will have an impact. If it goes wrong, it will badly affect sales, but if it goes smoothly, the impact should be mitigated.

So far, I think that being down 11.5% over last year is not bad.

The Candela P-12 is the first hydrofoil electric ferry in the world to begin commercial operations. The 30-seat electric ferry uses a set of computer-controlled hydrofoil wings to fly above the surface of the water, resulting in a smoother and more efficient ride. But what happens when the seas get rough?

Most of the time, we see slickly edited marketing videos of hydrofoil electric boats smoothly soaring above relatively calm water. It’s an awesome visual, watching the blade-like struts that support the boat’s hydrofoils leave mere ripples on the glassy surface of the water. But it also begs the question, “What happens on anything other than a calm sailing day?”

In a recently shared video, we get a chance to see exactly what it looks like when one of those boats encounters significantly less friendly water in the Baltic Sea.

You know, the kind that would make stomachs like mine offer a refund on their lunch.

A Candela P-12 electric ferry operating in Nynäshamn, Sweden was recently filmed operating in 50 km/h (31 mph) wind that whipped up the choppy water and resulted in swells as high as 2 meters (6.5 feet).

A film team on the accompanying RIB (rigid inflatable boat) could be seen getting bounced around while the Candela P-12 ferry maintained its smooth flight over the chop and swells.

“It was such a smooth ride,” remarked one of the passengers on the ferry. “It’s actually quite nice because before we started foiling, you could really feel the waves. And then once we started going up on the foils it all disappears. And then I looked out and I can see the rib was just bouncing up and down meanwhile inside of our boat it’s smooth. It’s quite a unique experience.”

This electric ferry, named NOVA, has been operating since late 2024 when it took its maiden voyage on a route from Tappström in Sweden. There it reached its destination at Stockholm City Hall, a distance of around 15 km (9 mile), in just 30 minutes. That’s around half the time it normally takes to cover the same route by car or public transit.

Electric ferries like these are now enabling much quicker and more cost-effective commutes in areas with convenient waterways, helping to reduce both emissions and travel time for the public. With fast charging capabilities, the boats can quickly recharge while at each harbor, ensuring all-day operations. With the use of hydrofoils compared to traditional displacement ferries, the boats use significantly less energy and result in a much more comfortable ride for passengers.

Having personally piloted multiple Candela hydrofoil boats myself, I can attest firsthand to the impressive performance.

While on a trip to Stockholm, the company let me get an early test ride and take out their C-8 electric speedboat while it was still in its final stages of production. It didn’t have all of its luxury gear installed yet, but the flight system was working in true form, allowing me to slice across the wake left by cruise ships coming into port.

You can check out that experience in my video below.

Trump’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued a memo ordering states to suspend all state EV infrastructure deployment plans under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program.

Trump’s FHWA orders NEVI suspension

The $5 billion NEVI program is the big rollout of EV charging infrastructure across the US that was funded by the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Act, and it’s already well underway.

Under the NEVI program, states have to send their plans to the FHWA annually, detailing how they’ll use the funds. During the Biden administration, the FHWA signed off on the first four out of five fiscal years of plans through 2025. However, not all of it has been “obligated” to EV infrastructure projects.

Trump’s FHWA has told states in this memo that they can’t commit funds that were already approved to new EV charging infrastructure. However, money that was already committed is not affected. 

The memo reads:

Therefore, effective immediately, no new obligations may occur under the NEVI Formula Program until the updated final NEVI Formula Program Guidance is issued and new State plans are submitted and approved. Instructions for the submission of new State plans for all fiscal years will be included in the updated final NEVI Formula Program Guidance. Since FHWA is suspending the existing State plans, States will be held harmless for not implementing their existing plans. Until new guidance is issued, reimbursement of existing obligations will be allowed in order to not disrupt current financial commitments.

Electrek’s Take

I asked Loren McDonald, chief analyst at Paren, what his thoughts were on this latest cancellation, and he, among others (myself included), doesn’t think the FHWA has the authority to stop the NEVI program with a memo – it would need a change in law from Congress – and then the courts will settle it. (Who else is beginning to see a Trump administration theme here?) McDonald said:

 I don’t believe FHWA has the authority to pause or rescind any aspect of NEVI. The Trump administration is clearly trying to stop or pause programs like NEVI for as long as they can, but I assume lawsuits from states will start soon, and this will go to court and Congress … but the Trump admin will succeed in just causing havoc and slowing things down for a while. In the end, the Trump administration will likely fail, as only Congress can fundamentally revise and stop the NEVI program.

But, as with everything else rolled back the last few weeks, this will cause chaos and delays. This will cause serious damage to businesses nationwide – from EV charging companies (including Tesla, one of the largest NEVI recipients) to convenience stores and other host sites – and will waste money and cost people jobs.

It should also be noted that NEVI is the very reason that the NACS charging standard exists in the first place.

NEVI was limited only to chargers that could serve multiple makes of vehicles – a reasonable step, that government wouldn’t want to do a giveaway to a single, proprietary company. This is what caused Tesla to release NACS as a standard in the first place, so that its chargers could access NEVI money.

Then, when the entire industry switched over to the NACS standard, that signaled a potential long period of leadership in EV charging for Tesla. The company could have been the primary energy provider for EVs in North America for years or even decades to come as a result.

Now, an administration that Elon Musk is involved in is killing the very program that could have led to his company’s dominance in energy delivery – after also firing the entire team that was responsible for making the NACS standard in the first place.

What an awesome way to make America great again.

Read more: Q4 2024 update: 12,000 more US EV charging ports in 3 months

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