In March 2023, Tesla's Model Y becomes the best selling SUV in China
Tesla
Tesla's Model Y has emerged as China's best-selling SUV in March 2023, following substantial price cuts at the beginning of the year. The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) reports that Tesla sold 54,937 Model Ys in the country in March, representing a 38% increase from March 2022 and a 115% increase from February.
The Model Y's impressive sales performance is attributed to Tesla's decision to reduce prices by up to 13% in January, making the electric SUV more accessible to a broader consumer base. This strategic move paid off, as the Model Y outperformed other SUVs in March, including the second-place BYD Song, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), which sold 40,114 units during the same period.
Model Y Ranks Second in Q1 SUV Sales, Leads Among Electric Vehicles
Despite this strong performance, the Model Y fell short of becoming the best-selling SUV in China for Q1 2023. BYD Song accumulated 141,415 sales from January to March, outpacing Model Y, which saw 94,647 sales. However, the Model Y was the only electric vehicle to achieve such a high ranking, far ahead of the third-placed BYD Yuan Plus, which sold 62,528 units.
Tesla's strong start to the year in China began with 66,051 Model 3 and Model Y sales in January, followed by 74,402 sales in February. March's near-record sales of 88,869 units contributed to a quarterly total of approximately 229,322 units, accounting for more than half of Tesla's global sales for Q1 2023.
Strong Q1 Sales Solidify Tesla's Position in the Chinese Market
The Model Y's exceptional performance in China highlights Tesla's continued success in the market as Chinese consumers increasingly embrace electric vehicles. The strategic price reductions at the start of Q1 allowed more potential buyers to consider purchasing a Tesla, resulting in impressive sales figures for the first three months of the year.
As Tesla Model Y sales continue to soar in China, the automaker is well-positioned further to solidify its position in the country's SUV market. The Model Y's dominance among electric SUVs showcases the growing demand for EVs and the potential for Tesla to capitalize on this trend.
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Earlier this year, Tesla released a update for its Beach Buggy Racing 2 game in update 2024.20, which brought a new leaderboard feature to the game.
Grab your wheel, and step on the accelerator, because it's time to take a look at Tesla’s updated Beach Buggy Racing 2 – Supercharger Edition.
Supercharger Leaderboards
Tesla introduced Supercharger Leaderboards to the game, which means anytime you’re at or near a Supercharger site, you can open up Beach Buggy Racing, and compete against other real people in a local leaderboard. Leaderboard are time-based, so that you’re able to compete against other drivers even if there’s no one else currently at the Supercharger.
Leaderboards are available for each track and are location specific, meaning that all Supercharger locations have their own unique leaderboard.
When you arrive at a Supercharger Tesla will prompt you to play Beach Buggy Racing and take a stab at the Leaderboards, but you don’t actually need to be charging to play. All the game requires is that your vehicle is physically at the Supercharger location.
So far, there are no global leaderboards, but competing with fellow Tesla owners at your local Supercharger offers a fun way to pass the time during a 15-minute charge.
Vehicle Colorizer
Not a Tesla App
One lesser known feature of Beach Buggy Racing is that changing your vehicle’s on-screen color through Tesla’s Colorizer will also change the way your vehicle looks in Beach Buggy Racing. It’s a neat little easter egg, but it's all the small details that count. The paint style options apply as well – so Solid, Matte, and Metallic also all reflect in the game.
How to Play Beach Buggy Racing
There are a few ways to play Beach Buggy Racing, and Tesla has thought of everything for this specific game.
You can open up the game from Tesla Arcade when the vehicle is in Park. You have three control options – using the touchscreen, using a Bluetooth or USB controller, or using your vehicle’s steering wheel.
If you’re using the steering wheel, keep in mind that unless you’ve got a Cybertruck with Steer-by-Wire, your actual wheels will also turn. This can add some flat spots to your tires if you play excessively. We recommend using a controller or the touchscreen. Keep in mind that if you’re playing with the vehicle’s steering wheel, you actually use the Brake pedal to accelerate, not the real accelerator pedal.
The author recently took first place at the Leaderboards for the Supercharger in Scarborough, so if you’re in Toronto anytime, feel free to challenge my score! If you’re a leaderboard holder, come let us know where you took first place in the forums.
On October 26, Tesla’s VP of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, announced that the company would soon release a fix for multiple warnings when FSD is degraded due to obstructed cameras. This update, part of FSD 12.5.6.2, addresses feedback from Tesla drivers, like X user TGWoodsy, who pointed out that these repeated alerts can be distracting, especially during bad weather.
FSD 12.5.6.2 started rolling out to employees on November 5th and was soon replaced with another update, version 12.5.6.3, a few days later. With FSD 12.5.6.3 now rolling out widely to AI4 vehicles, we have our first look at Tesla’s improved warning system.
Thanks to Jeff on X, we have our first look at Tesla’s new camera-obstructed warning. It now offers clearer, more specific information on which cameras are obstructed and actionable steps to improve visibility.
Warning
In previous versions, Tesla’s FSD would occasionally display a generic “degraded” warning whenever camera visibility was impacted, especially by rain, snow, or dirt. These warnings could trigger multiple alerts in quick succession, leading to audible notifications that were more distracting than helpful.
In FSD 12.5.6.3, Tesla has revamped this approach. Instead of repeatedly notifying drivers of degraded visibility, the system now provides a similar warning message that shows which camera’s visibility is limited and states that Autopilot features may be limited.
New Alert with Tips
@juztenough
In addition to the warning message, Tesla now displays an alert in the bottom left corner of the UI for Model 3 and Model Y owners that could be swiped away.
This notification gives you some additional information on why Autopilot may be degraded. It looks like Tesla stopped using the term FSD in these alerts and is now using “Autopilot,” hinting that this feature will also be available for regular Autopilot use. This new notification gives you a tip on how to improve camera clarity and even displays a thumbnail of the camera that’s obstructed.
This notification also has a View button that can be tapped to display more information about the camera or cameras that are obstructed.
Detailed View
Tesla has also added an option to view more in-depth information on the obstruction, allowing users to identify which specific camera is impacted and exactly where it’s located on the vehicle. By tapping “View,” drivers can open a detailed modal next to the FSD visualization. This pop-up displays a diagram of the vehicle and highlights the obstructed camera in question. This can be especially useful if it’s one of the front-facing cameras.
Tesla vehicles with Hardware 3 (HW3) have three front-facing cameras, while those with Hardware 4 (HW4) include two. The detailed view outlines the location of the obstructed cameras and shows a larger view of the obstructed camera, giving users a better idea of why it may be obstructed.