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At a time when nothing seems to be working for Tesla, the Model Y Juniper is acting as a godsend for the struggling EV giant, managing to keep its sales afloat even as the company suffers from brand image deterioration, which is largely a function of Elon Musk's outsized role in Trump administration 2.0, and a slew of critical commentary on FSD from a number of famous YouTubers.
NEWS: 15,300 new Teslas were insured in China last week, the best week so far of 2025. https://t.co/huJ4nl9bnk pic.twitter.com/fgqbCnqS48
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 18, 2025
To wit, Tesla registered 15,300 insured units last week in China, clinching the best sales week of the year so far in the world's largest EV market.
$TSLA China reported a respectable 15.3K insured registrations for the week of Mar 10-16. This was the highest week of China registrations so far this year. After 11 weeks, 1st quarter is -4.4% YoY and -38.2% QoQ. While strong, we believe this # could have been even higher, as… pic.twitter.com/hp4o8MwAf7
— Gary Black (@garyblack00) March 18, 2025
What's more, the newly introduced Model Y Juniper is now playing a critical role in keeping Tesla's sales afloat, managing to narrow down the ongoing quarter's deficit to just -4.4 percent year-over-year. However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, Tesla is still running a sales deficit of 38.2 percent.
Of course, Tesla's introduction of a 3-year, 0 percent financing rate for the Model Y Juniper is likely to have played an important role at the margins to create some much-needed sales momentum for the EV giant in China.
blaming 3 youtubers for the entire fall of $TSLA is wild.
The stock was down 50% before my video even went live. 😂 you sure its not the roman salute? the 10 years of failed FSD promises? where's the Roadster? why are the cybertruck's panels glued on?The ship is sinking, the… pic.twitter.com/xXBOEFlbXf
— JerryRigEverything (@ZacksJerryRig) March 17, 2025
While Tesla's sales momentum appears to be improving, albeit gradually, the stock has been hammered lately by the critical commentary on FSD from famous YouTubers.
Out of these, Mark Rober's testing of the FSD has proved to be the most carnage-inducing. For the benefit of those who might not be aware, Rober recently pitted Tesla's FSD against a vehicle equipped with Luminar Technologies's LiDAR, with the latter easily outperforming in the simulated fog and torrential downpour environments.
I have some questions:
1) Your video "Can You Fool a Self-Driving Car?" uses Luminar’s latest tech but not Tesla’s latest FSD software. Why?
2) Autopilot was turned on at 42 MPH in your YouTube video but you turned it on at 39/40 MPH in your clip above. Why? Multiple takes?
3)… pic.twitter.com/TE0BZozNL8
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 17, 2025
Of course, the fact that Rober's video was sponsored by Luminar has not sat well with much of Tesla's fan base. Rober later posted a snippet of his YouTube video on X, attracting a slew of critical comments from Tesla-focused furus, including allegations of multiple takes and a timestamp mismatch for Autopilot activation, hinting at a much more choreographed testing environment.
BYD's new 1 MW charging platform marks a tipping point in the EV industry.
It can add 400 km (250 miles) on a 5-min charge, almost as fast as filling up a tank of gas.
BYD will start by building 4,000 chargers in China. But imagine BYD rolling this out across other countries. pic.twitter.com/zeenFVbTMz
— Kyle Chan (@kyleichan) March 17, 2025
Meanwhile, Tesla's nemesis in China, BYD, has emerged to rub the proverbial salt on the EV giant's wounds by announcing a new 1MW charging platform that is capable of adding a range of 400kms (250 miles) on a 5-minute charge. BYD plans to roll out 4,000 of these chargers across China in the initial stage alone.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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