Tesla Sales Surge in China as Tesla Signs New Battery Deal for Megafactory

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Tesla is seeing major increases in sales in China, one of the world’s most competitive EV markets, even against a production slowdown. It’s also branching out its supply lines – and no longer sole-sourcing LFP batteries from one supplier in China for Mega Shanghai.

Uptick in Sales

Tesla has reported a notable rise in its wholesale figures in China for May 2024, achieving a total of 72,573 units sold. This marks a 16.74% increase from the previous month, highlighting a positive trajectory for Tesla in one of the world's most competitive markets. These figures were provided by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), which offers detailed and accurate information for China's automotive industry.

This surge in sales is particularly significant given the highly competitive landscape of the Chinese EV market. Clearly, Tesla's sales strategies and model lineup are resonating with Chinese consumers, despite fierce competition from local manufacturers. Several factors could be contributing to this rise, including Tesla's strong brand reputation in China, high product quality, competitive pricing strategies, and the increasing demand for electric vehicles in China.

Tesla has also hinted at China being an upcoming market for FSD, which could be another major driving factor.

New Battery Supplier

BYD’s battery manufacturing division – FinDreams, will now be supplying Tesla with battery cells for its Megafactory in Shanghai. This megafactory won’t be producing cars but will be producing Megapacks and Powerwalls.

FinDreams will be providing approximately 20% of the cells needed on a month-to-month basis at Megafactory Shanghai. This is a move away from CATL – who was previously Tesla’s sole supplier of battery cells, after a transition away from LG Chem and towards LFP (Lithium Iron-Phosphate) batteries.

Mega Shanghai is expected to produce 10,000 Megapack units a year – an annual production capacity of 40 GWh. While it just broke ground recently, it’s expected to be up and running by late 2025.

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Tesla Introduces Hands-Free Frunk Opening in Update 2024.32.3

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In Tesla’s upcoming update, 2024.32.3, Tesla has added hands-free support for opening the vehicle’s frunk. This follows the Spring Update (2024.14), which added Hands-Free Trunk support for certain vehicles.

When hands-free trunk support was added earlier this year, it was supported on vehicles that include an ultra wideband chip, which includes the refresh Model S, new Model X, and the 2024 Model 3. Due to the hardware requirement, these will be the same vehicles that support the new Hands-Free Frunk feature. Legacy vehicles without UWB will unfortunately not support either feature due to the hardware requirement. UWB enables far more accurate tracking of the phone key, allowing Tesla to pinpoint its exact location relative to the vehicle.

The Cybertruck interestingly also includes an ultra wideband chip, however, it didn’t include the automatic opening of the gate earlier this year. However, we expect the Cybertruck to also receive the hands-free frunk opening in this 2024.32.3 update or relatively soon afterward.

Update: The Cybertruck is receiving hands-free frunk support in the 2024.32 update as well.

Hands-Free Frunk

The Hands-Free Frunk works similarly to the trunk feature – with an iPhone 11+ and a recent version of the app, you’ll be able to stand in front of your vehicle, and the Frunk will unlatch after sounding a chime. On some vehicles, the frunk will immediately open after being unlatched, however, you’ll need to manually close it.

This new feature isn’t enabled by default – you’ll need to go to Settings > Locks > Hands-Free Frunk to enable it.

At this time, Tesla doesn’t support UWB on Android devices, though both the Hands-Free Trunk and Hands-Free Frunk support will come to Android users in a future app update, according to Tesla.

Exclude Home

With the addition of the hands-free frunk opening, Tesla has also added a new option. You can now choose to disable the automatic opening when your vehicle is located at home to prevent you from accidentally opening. This will apply to the automatic frunk and trunk. In addition, in the Model X, you’ll also be able to disable the self-presenting doors at home. This is a great addition as many people have kept the hands-free feature disabled due to it awkwardly opening in the garage.

In the 2024.32.3 update, Tesla also mentions that they’ve improved the detection of the phone key, which should make the feature more reliable and faster when approaching the vehicle from the front or rear.

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Tesla’s Referral Program Launches in Europe

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Following its recent launch in the United States and Canada, Tesla has launched their referral program in several European countries as well.

The program is available in Germany, Norway, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and possibly others. The program is almost the same as the one available today in North America, with rewards for each referral and a discount for those referred. The cap in Europe is also ten per year.

This program comes right on the heels of a 0% financing offer for the Model Y in Sweden and France. While referrals aren't currently available in Sweden, the 0% financing still is.

European Referrals

The European Referral program accounts for country and local currency, where applicable.

The referral reward program is comparable to the one available in North America. After exchange rates, there is only an approximately 10% difference between the available rewards in the US and EU.

Other Countries

We expect this program to start rolling out to other European countries over the next few days or weeks, as Tesla continues to expand its referral program.

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