Tesla wants to come up with a new trump card.

Tesla, currently in the spotlight, is facing quite a few internal troubles and pressures. Tesla wants to come up with a new trump card and urgently needs to tell a new story.

01 Tesla Wants to Come Up with a New Trump Card

In the Chinese auto market in recent days, Tesla has, after a long absence, entered a glorious moment.

Recently, the "Auto Intelligence Testing Ground" vehicle assisted driving test program broadcast by Dongchedi invited 36 popular models equipped with assisted driving systems to take turns in simulating 15 types of high - risk accident scenarios.

In the past, car companies always boasted that their assisted driving systems were among the best in the industry. To be honest, large - scale tests like Dongchedi's are still rare in the industry.

One of the test results really surprised the market. That is, Tesla Model 3 and Model X achieved an 83.3% passing rate in high - speed scenarios, which can be regarded as the best result.

Dongchedi's test quickly sparked heated discussions. Some car companies responded that they had no comment, while some car company executives called for a proper attitude. Although this test was not a ranking, the test results of Tesla's two models were excellent.

Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk couldn't help but repost the relevant test results on the social platform on July 25th and said that Tesla achieved the highest score in China without local training data. Subsequently, the topic even made it to the hot search list.

Anyway, Dongchedi's test allowed Tesla, which has always been used as a comparison by Chinese local car companies, especially new car - making forces, to regain its pride.

However, in the view of "New Product Strategy Finance", two other important news about Tesla are more worthy of attention and reveal an important signal: Tesla wants to come up with a new trump card.

First, Tesla China officially released the official pictures of the Model Y L on July 16th, with the caption "See you in autumn". The new positioning of this new car is a full - scene six - seat luxury SUV, with a wheelbase of over 3 meters and a length of about 5 meters. The market estimates that the selling price will be about 400,000 yuan.

Second, many domestic and foreign media have exposed Tesla's low - cost model, and some short - video bloggers have even posted spy photos of the interior of this model, indicating that Tesla's low - cost model is really coming soon.

Elon Musk clearly stated in a recent earnings conference call that the affordable car Tesla will launch before the end of this year will be a new version of the Model Y.

Although the market has long anticipated that Tesla will launch a six - seat model in the Chinese market sooner or later, and the low - cost Tesla model has also been reported by the media from time to time in the past year or two, it has been delayed.

The shrewd Elon Musk and Tesla don't want to miss any business opportunities. The arrival of the new Tesla models predicted and rumored by the market is just a matter of time. Moreover, as a global car company, Tesla lags far behind Chinese local new car - making forces in terms of market response speed.

In the view of "New Product Strategy Finance", whether it is the six - seat version of the Model Y L or the new low - cost version of the Model Y, they are all precisely targeted at the Chinese market.

02 The Chinese Market Is the Pillar of Tesla

Undoubtedly, the Chinese market has been, is, and will still be the pillar market for Tesla, and it is becoming increasingly important.

Currently, Tesla has quite a few internal troubles and pressures. It can even be said that Tesla is somewhat anxious.

Tesla's real - world difficulties are reflected in its latest financial report. Tesla will face considerable financial pressure now and in the near future.

According to Tesla's second - quarter financial report released recently, Tesla's revenue in the reporting period was approximately $22.496 billion, a year - on - year decrease of 12%, the largest decline in at least a decade. The net profit in the second quarter was $1.172 billion, a year - on - year decrease of 20.7%.

Even Musk frankly said that Tesla does not rule out experiencing several "tough quarters" in the future, indicating that Musk has issued a warning for Tesla in the next few months.

Behind Tesla's financial report data is the overall pressure on Tesla's automotive business. During the reporting period, Tesla's automotive business revenue was $16.661 billion, a year - on - year decrease of 16%.

During the reporting period, Tesla's global vehicle deliveries were only 384,100 units, a decrease of nearly 60,000 units compared with the same period last year, a sharp drop of 13.5%. It has seen double - digit declines for two consecutive quarters. Especially in the European market, in the second quarter of 2025, the overall sales of electric vehicles in the European market increased by more than 20%, but Tesla's sales decreased by more than one - third year - on - year.

In California, the home market of Tesla in the United States, Tesla's vehicle sales have declined for seven consecutive quarters. Naturally, Musk and Tesla are anxious about this.

The Chinese market has always been the pillar market for Tesla. In the second quarter of 2025, against the background of the decline in Tesla's global sales, China became Tesla's only growth engine.

According to data from the Passenger Car Association, Tesla delivered 129,000 vehicles in China in the second quarter, accounting for 34% of its global sales. Although the delivery volume in the second quarter was good, Tesla's cumulative sales in the Chinese market in the first half of the year were 263,400 units, a 5.4% decrease compared with the same period in 2024, and its market share shrank from the peak of 15% in 2020 to 7.6%.

It can be seen that the Chinese market accounts for more than 30% of Tesla's global sales. In the second quarter of this year, from the perspective of its global sales, it means that for every three Teslas sold, one is bought by Chinese consumers. The importance of the Chinese market to Tesla is self - evident.

Against the background of the decline in Tesla's global sales, especially under the pressure of declining sales in the US and European markets, stabilizing and increasing sales in the Chinese market has become the key to reversing the decline in Tesla's global sales, a necessary option, and even one of the few choices.

Although Tesla's models still have relatively obvious competitiveness globally, in the Chinese market, it has long faced the problem of an aging product line. Many media and even Tesla owners have joked that Tesla cars are like "rough - finished houses".

Tesla's engineering vice - president, Lars Moravy, said at a customer and investor communication meeting held in the San Francisco Bay Area on July 27th local time that Tesla is currently facing challenges in its main automotive business. Affected by the aging product line, global sales have declined, and the company is at a critical node for strategic breakthrough.

It can be said that due to the current financial pressure and the pressure of declining global sales that Tesla is facing, Tesla may have to accelerate the introduction of new market measures and new trump cards.

03 Can Tesla's New Trump Card Create a Shockwave?

Focusing on the Chinese new - energy vehicle market, the Chinese new - energy vehicle market continued to develop rapidly in the first half of 2025.

According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers and official sources, from January to June 2025, the production and sales of new - energy vehicles in China reached 6.968 million and 6.937 million units respectively, a year - on - year increase of 41.4% and 40.3% respectively.

Meanwhile, the competition in the Chinese new - energy vehicle industry has become more intense.

For example, on the evening of June 26th, after the release of Xiaomi's second model, the Xiaomi YU7, it achieved over 200,000 large - order bookings in three minutes after its launch, and the locked - in order volume exceeded 240,000 units in 18 hours, amazing the market.

Another example is that LeDao, a brand under NIO, held a product technology press conference for the L90 on July 10th. The starting price of the model with the battery rental option is 193,900 yuan, which has attracted considerable market attention. At the same time, Li Auto's first pure - electric SUV, the Li i8, was launched on July 29th, with a starting price of 321,800 yuan. It is promoted as being the first to be equipped with the VLA driver large - model.

The new car - making force Leapmotor has continuously ranked first on the list. XPeng Motors continues to make efforts, and Huawei's HarmonyOS Smart Mobility system is also gaining momentum. Even joint - venture car companies are aggressively attacking the new - energy vehicle business. For example, Dongfeng Nissan's N7 has achieved good market sales, and there are more and more new - energy models of GAC Toyota on the road.

So, against the background of the fierce competition in the Chinese new - energy vehicle industry, can Tesla's new trump - card models create a shockwave?

It has to be admitted that Tesla's brand image and brand influence still exist. This is because Tesla has established the image of a luxury new - energy vehicle brand. Although some market views or car - buying groups believe that Tesla's product strength has fallen behind, Tesla's sales in the Chinese market are still growing, which also proves this point.

In the new - energy SUV segment, the sales list for June shows that the sales volume of the Tesla Model Y was 44,848 units, maintaining its championship position with an absolute advantage. It led the second - ranked BYD Song PLUS New Energy by nearly 26,813 units, almost double. The popular Huawei AITO M8 ranked fourth on the list, with sales less than half of the Model Y.

In the Chinese new - energy vehicle market, SUVs are much more popular than sedans and station wagons. Tesla is well aware of this.

One of the new trump - card models that Tesla is about to launch in the Chinese market, the six - seat version of the Model Y L, is naturally targeted at the demand of Chinese families for six - seat large SUVs. Although it is late, it enriches Tesla's SUV product portfolio and can meet the purchasing needs of those who like the Tesla brand and also prefer six - seat family cars.

In the past, Tesla's product line was synchronized globally. Now, Tesla is launching a special - edition new model for the Chinese market, the six - seat Model Y L, which directly reflects Tesla's further acceleration of localization in the Chinese market and the adoption of a product strategy of "more products for better competition".

However, the market is more looking forward to, or rather, Chinese local car brands are more concerned about and want to know about the low - cost new version of the Model Y that Tesla is accelerating the promotion of.

The long - awaited low - cost Tesla Model 2 did not come, but instead, there is definite news about the low - cost Model Y. Obviously, the core target market of Tesla's low - cost Model Y is Chinese consumers and the Chinese market.

From a preliminary judgment, Tesla's Model Y L six - seat luxury model will pose certain competition to most Chinese local new car - making forces and create a certain shockwave.

The low - cost new Model Y will have a wider coverage and target a broader customer base. If the cost of this model is low at that time and the selling price drops further, it will create a significant market shockwave. For example, XPeng's G6 and G7 will be competitors to the low - cost new Model Y in the future.

Tesla's main - selling models have only undergone minor facelifts and upgrades, not a complete overhaul. Its appeal lies in its relatively balanced comprehensive product strength, with neither prominent advantages nor obvious disadvantages.

Of course, Chinese local car companies, especially new car - making forces, have competitive models. With a large number of brands and products, they can also attract different car - buying groups. Therefore, Tesla's pressure will also increase.

In the future, what can really increase Tesla's competitiveness is its intelligent assisted driving system. At least, Dongchedi's test shows that Tesla's intelligent assisted driving ability is still leading in the industry.

Tesla revealed at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference that its intelligent assisted driving system (driver - supervision version) is planned to be launched in China and Europe in 2025, pending regulatory approval.

Overall, Tesla is paying more attention to the Chinese market and will further accelerate localization in the Chinese market in the future. Tesla not only needs a global perspective but also a Chinese - localized business mindset.

This article is from the WeChat official account "New Product Strategy Finance", author: Wu Wenwu, published by 36Kr with permission.