As a benchmark company in the electric vehicle industry, Tesla is facing unprecedented market challenges. According to the latest data from the China Federation of Passengers, Tesla's wholesale sales in China in May were only 61,662 vehicles, down 15% year-on-year. This is the eighth consecutive month of sales decline. What's more serious is that this trend is spreading from the Chinese market to the world:

 

The European market is also not optimistic: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy have all experienced cliff-like declines to varying degrees. Tesla showrooms that used to queue up for test drives are now crowded, and some stores even shorten business hours to cut costs.

 

US: Tesla's market share in California shrank seriously in the first quarter of this year. As its base, the decline in sales is of symbolic significance - not only reflects the erosion of market share, but also exposes the decline of brand appeal.

 

Industry experts point out that Tesla's current product line structure is one of the core factors for the decline in sales. Model 3 and Model Y, as their sales pillars, have almost entered the end of the product lifecycle (usually the product cycle of electric vehicles is 5-7 years). Although Tesla maintains some competitiveness through software upgrades (such as FSD function iteration), the stagnation of innovation at the hardware level (such as cruising range, interior design, charging speed, etc.) has left consumers with aesthetic fatigue, and it is almost impossible to compete with domestic cars at the same price.

 

At the same time, new products such as Cybertruck have failed to carry the "growth flag". Since its delivery last year, Cybertruck has been unable to break into the market quickly due to slow production ramps, design disputes (high maintenance costs due to stainless steel bodies, icy charging ports, etc.) and high pricing (starting at more than $60,000).

 

Founder Elon Musk, who has poured so much energy into social media (the X platform) and space exploration (the SpaceX Starship program) in recent years, has been questioned by some investors for "neglecting the core business". For example, the X platform is losing hundreds of millions of dollars, while Tesla's R & D investment has fallen from 10% in previous years to 7%. This quota imbalance could lead to a slowdown in Tesla's progress in key areas such as intelligence (such as the iteration of the autonomous driving algorithm) and electrification (the new generation of 4680 battery capacity climbing).

 

The fierce competition in the Chinese market is particularly prominent. BYD relies on the full product matrix of "Dynasty Series + Ocean Series" (sales exceeded 330,000 in May, of which new energy vehicles accounted for more than 90%), Huawei asks the world to rely on the advantages of intelligent cockpit technology (Hongmeng car machine system users exceed 2 million), NIO/Xiaopeng and other new forces in the high-end market precision positioning (such as NIO ET7 power exchange mode), continue to squeeze Tesla's market share, not only Tesla, BBA also have the same experience, the younger generation of domestic consumers seem to have lost interest in overseas brands.

 

The European market is facing a strong counterattack from local established automakers. The Volkswagen ID. series, BMW i series, and Mercedes-Benz EQ series have gradually replaced Tesla as the first choice for consumers with mature dealer networks, localized services (such as European consumers prioritize after-sales response speed), and policy support (European Union carbon tariff exemption). In the end, the model has not been updated for many years.

 

Facing the difficult situation, Elon Musk has recently launched a series of emergency adjustments: suspending the global expansion of Supercharger stations. The original plan to add 10,000 new Supercharger stations worldwide has been put on hold, and instead, he is optimizing the layout of existing stations (such as increasing utilization rate and upgrading the charging power to 350kW). Although this measure may affect the user experience in the short term, it can reduce capital expenditures (the construction cost of a single Supercharger station is approximately $250,000). Moreover, the charging power of domestic Supercharger stations is basically above 500kW. The gap really makes people hold their breath. 

 

Large-scale layoffs and restructuring, focusing on adjusting sales, administration and other departments. At the same time, some R & D resources are tilted towards autonomous driving (FSD V12 version iteration) and robot taxi projects, trying to reshape competitiveness through technological breakthroughs. This is still worth learning. Make full use of resources for business expansion and increase corporate vitality and development prospects.

Despite the severe current difficulties, Tesla still has the potential momentum for a "reversal" and a strong technological reserve advantage: If the 4680 battery (with a 50% increase in energy density and a 14% reduction in cost) achieves large - scale mass production, it will significantly enhance product competitiveness; if the FSD technology passes the US regulatory approval, it may disrupt the mobility service market. Brand premium ability: Tesla remains the most influential brand in the global electric vehicle field. Its combination of "tech - sense + direct - sales model" occupies a unique position in consumers' minds. Elon Musk is good at making disruptive decisions in a crisis, and may launch more competitive new products in the future (such as the rumored Model 2 compact car).

Conclusion: Tesla's sales decline is not caused by a single factor, but a concentrated outbreak of multiple contradictions such as product iteration, strategic focus, and competitive environment. In the short term, layoffs and shrinking overcharging stations may further affect market confidence; but in the long run, if it can achieve breakthroughs in core technologies (batteries, autonomous driving) and user experience (charging network, after-sales services), Tesla may still return to glory.