Musk couldn't sit still. Tesla suddenly raised prices to fight back against Lei Jun, and the news hit the top of the hot search list.

Amid Fierce Price Wars, Tesla Suddenly Raises Prices

In the second half of the new energy vehicle era, various brands are engaged in fierce price wars. However, Tesla has gone against the trend and suddenly announced price hikes. What exactly is it up to?

On July 1st, Tesla China's official website announced that the long - range versions of two models, Model 3 and Model Y, have received product upgrades. The CLTC range of the Model 3 Long Range All - Wheel Drive version has increased to 753 kilometers, and the 0 - 100km/h acceleration has been improved to 3.8 seconds. The starting price is 285,500 yuan, with a price increase of 10,000 yuan.

Image source: Tesla

The refreshed Model Y Long Range All - Wheel Drive version has a CLTC range increased to 750km, and the starting price remains unchanged at 313,500 yuan.

According to Tesla, the Model 3 Long Range version and the refreshed Model Y Long Range version are equipped with new battery packs. Although the available battery capacity remains the same, a new chemical formula is used, and through the optimization of the whole vehicle, the vehicle's range has been improved. At the same time, the new battery will be more durable.

In addition, Tesla also said: Those who place orders before July 31st can enjoy policies such as five - year zero - interest loans, 8,000 yuan insurance subsidies, 8,000 yuan for car paint, and a free upgrade of 31km in range. Moreover, when placing an order through the referral of a Tesla owner, customers can choose car paints such as Star Diamond Black, Pearl White, and Glacier Blue at "zero cost".

After the news was released, Tesla made it onto two hot search lists, indicating its high level of attention.

Image source: Screenshot from Weibo

Image source: Screenshot from Weibo

Many netizens expressed their opinions. Some bloggers questioned Tesla's move, saying: "The price hike is for a better price cut later. It's all learned from BMW before. Isn't it going to cut the price again in two months? Tesla always uses this trick to force customers to place orders and pick up cars... The previous joint - venture and overseas brands that were so over - confident have been defeated by domestic new energy brands. Tesla's reverse price hike actually gives a big boost to Xiaomi YU7."

Image source: Screenshot from Weibo

Currently, the two popular models launched by Xiaomi Auto are in competition with Tesla's models. One is the Xiaomi SU7 against the Tesla Model 3, and the other is the newly released Xiaomi YU7 against the Tesla Model Y.

After several rounds of competition between the two sides, it seems that Xiaomi is undoubtedly a formidable competitor for Tesla in the Chinese market.

On the one hand, the Xiaomi SU7 has outperformed the Model 3 for several consecutive months. In March this year, it even topped the list of mid - to large - sized pure - electric sedans with a sales volume of 29,244 units.

On the other hand, in May, Tesla Model Y's sales volume in China was 24,770 units. The newly launched Xiaomi YU7 caught up with the Model Y in terms of order volume in just one hour, showing a strong momentum.

Image source: Weibo

Of course, the "rising star" Xiaomi Auto is not without pressure. After setting the sales record of "selling 200,000 units in 3 minutes and nearly 300,000 units in 1 hour" on the release day, troubles have also followed.

According to the data shown on the Xiaomi Auto App, customers who lock in an order for the YU7 standard version are expected to wait for 53 - 56 weeks, 48 - 51 weeks for the YU7 Pro version, and even for the highest - priced YU7 Max version, it will take 33 - 36 weeks for delivery.

Currently, Xiaomi's first - phase factory has an annual production capacity of 150,000 units, and it still needs to process the backlogged orders for the SU7. Even though the SU7 was released more than a year ago, customers who place an order now still need to wait for about 8 months. After the second - phase factory starts production as scheduled, the annual delivery target of 300,000 units that the first and second factories can achieve can only barely cover the existing orders.

Lei Jun at the Xiaomi Auto factory. Image source: Screenshot from Xiaohongshu

Therefore, there are many voices of regret from consumers on social platforms, saying that they can't wait for such a long time.

Image source: Screenshot from Xiaohongshu

At such a critical moment, of course, rival brands won't miss the opportunity and have extended an "olive branch" to potential customers. Many car companies have publicly stated that they are willing to fully refund the 5,000 - yuan deposit for the Xiaomi YU7 for users.

For example, some offline stores of NIO said that if customers buy a NIO brand model, they can be reimbursed for the 5,000 - yuan deposit locked in for the YU7. The same reimbursement policy applies when choosing a LeDao model.

Another example is that some brands under Hongmeng Zhixing have also joined this "interception" campaign. A Hongmeng Zhixing store in Guangzhou has launched an activity where customers can be reimbursed for the YU7 deposit when buying the Zhijie S7 or R7, but the Wenjie models do not enjoy this service.

Currently, brands such as IM, NIO, ZEEKR, Zhijie, and Avatr have all responded to this "order - grabbing" campaign.

Facing Tesla's inexplicable counter - attack and the direct competition from rival brands, it's imaginable that the challenges ahead for the Xiaomi YU7 are just beginning.

Lei Jun: Elon Musk is an Incredibly "Counter - Intuitive" Guy

The friendship between Lei Jun and Elon Musk can be traced back to twelve years ago.

In 2013, Tesla's market value nearly quadrupled within a year, which caught Lei Jun's attention. Therefore, he visited Elon Musk in the United States twice, in July and October respectively.

Lei Jun took a photo with Elon Musk. Image source: Weibo

After returning, Lei Jun wrote in his official account article at that time, "Elon Musk is a Cool Guy": I went to the United States twice last year, and both times I visited Elon Musk. Different from meeting other Silicon Valley tycoons to talk about business topics, I visited Elon Musk purely out of interest: this guy is incredibly "counter - intuitive".

At the same time, Lei Jun took a test drive of a Tesla. In his test - drive experience, he wrote: Electric vehicles are not new, but in terms of intelligence, the design concept and functional service implementation level of Tesla are as different from other cars as the difference between mobile Internet applications and single - machine local computing.

Even, Lei Jun asked Elon Musk: Everyone is very worried about what to do if your car crashes?

Elon Musk gave a profound answer: Yes, modern intelligent systems will crash, it's just a matter of probability. It doesn't matter if it crashes, just restart it.

Perhaps those two visits laid the foundation for the later emergence of Xiaomi Auto.

Several years later, Xiaomi entered the automotive industry and publicly stated many times that it regarded Tesla, the "senior" in the industry, as a direct competitor.

In response, at the beginning of this year, Tesla launched the refreshed Model Y and challenged others to "make a comparison". Lei Jun reposted this message and replied with the word "Okay", pushing the competition between the two to a new high.

Image source: Screenshot from Weibo

Not long ago, during the official announcement of the Xiaomi YU7, Lei Jun even said directly: The Xiaomi YU7 will continue to challenge the Model Y! I'm very confident in its product strength. As for the sales volume, it depends on people's feedback after the release.

Of course, even today, Lei Jun still appreciates Tesla. Recently, regarding Tesla's automatic delivery technology, Lei Jun reposted a Weibo post and said: Tesla is really amazing. It has led the industry trend in many fields, especially in FSD. We still need to learn from it!

Image source: Screenshot from Weibo

Perhaps Lei Jun's attitude towards Elon Musk and Tesla is also a manifestation of "heroes respecting heroes".

Tesla's Awkward Situation

Finally, let's talk about Tesla's current situation. In the new energy vehicle industry, Tesla's status goes without saying. After being on the market for many years, its products are still very popular.

However, recently, affected by various factors, Tesla is gradually getting stuck in a sales quagmire.

In the European market, since the beginning of this year, Tesla's sales have plummeted by 46.1% year - on - year. In April, the monthly sales volume was only 5,475 units, a year - on - year decline of 52.6%, and its market share dropped to 1%.

In the US market, Tesla's sales are also not optimistic, with negative growth for four consecutive months.

In the Chinese market, as of June, Tesla's sales have declined year - on - year for eight consecutive months.

In short, Tesla's current situation is: a complete collapse in the European market, a sluggish US market, and fierce competition in the Chinese market.

Elon Musk, the founder who has dabbled in politics, thought he could reverse Tesla's downward trend after returning to the main business, but the effect is not obvious.

In addition, there are also many risks in local policies. If the "Big and Beautiful" bill signed by Trump is officially implemented, the tax credit for electric vehicles will be gradually phased out in 2026. According to the calculations of relevant institutions, this will threaten more than 50% of Tesla's profits at that time.

Of course, Elon Musk has also posted many times on social media platforms, accusing the "Big and Beautiful" bill.

Recently, Elon Musk said again that the "crazy spending" in the "Big and Beautiful" bill will increase the debt