Despite claims to the contrary by notorious Tesla critics, demand for the Model Y in China does not seem to be disappearing into thin air. In fact it is the opposite as recent photos and videos of the Beijing Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) show long lines of the electric SUV waiting to be registered.
In one example shared to Twitter by Eva Fox we see a camera person navigating through three lines of cars. In the short 34-second video a total of 18 Model Y cars are filmed, along with a one Model 3.
https://twitter.com/EvaFoxU/status/1440608913754181634
Photos from other DMVs around China and reported by Tesmanian show the phenomenon is not limited to only Beijing. One new owner in the Guangdong province said Tesla made up the majority of the vehicles waiting to receive license plates when he was registering his Model Y.
The reason for the large influx of new cars was later explained by Elon Musk and it all comes down to production cycles and logistics at Giga Shanghai. Responding to the video above Musk said the factory focuses production on cars intended for export in the first half of a quarter.
Following that the focus is on cars destined for “far away parts of China,” before finally building cars for “nearby parts of China”.
This is why Tesla reported low sales for the Model 3 and Model Y in July and August, as most of the cars, especially the Model Y, were exported to Europe.
Musk said there is a large impact on production workers at the factory because of this cycle, but he hopes to reduce the “wave” later this year and into next.
Rumours are circulating that Tesla could report as many as 40,000 deliveries in September. If the photos and videos above are any indication, those estimates may not be far off.
Exactly. Giga Shanghai makes cars for export in first half of quarter, then cars for far away parts of China, then cars for nearby parts of China.
Net result is a crazy wave of deliveries end of quarter. It is tough on our team, so we’re hoping to reduce the wave in Q4 & Q1.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 22, 2021
