Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Tesla’s Model Y L Is Selling Fast in China

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Tesla’s Model Y L Is Selling Fast in China · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
• 0:04
  Podcast. This is a show where we discuss
• 0:07
  the critical crossroads, the Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The
• 0:11
  Boring Company, and Neurolink. I'm your host, Will Walden.
• 0:15
  Tesla has already started delivering its new Model YL in
• 0:19
  China and the results speak for themselves.
• 0:23
  Orders have surged since the three row, six seat version open
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  for purchase in early June, with deliveries beginning in mid
• 0:31
  August. Now the early demand confirms
• 0:34
  something Tesla has long tried to prove.
• 0:36
  A stretched family sized SUV that undercuts the price of a
• 0:41
  Model X can still generate serious volume.
• 0:46
  The new Model YL measures 201.4 inches long, which makes it
• 0:51
  about 7.8 inches longer than the standard Model Y.
• 0:56
  And Tesla didn't just tack on length to the rear and
• 1:00
  redesigned the body to include a stretched wheelbase any more
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  spacious 3rd row. That's what gives this version
• 1:07
  real utility for Chinese families looking for a premium
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  EV that doesn't hit Model X territory in price.
• 1:15
  Tesla lists the Model YL starting at RMB3O9900 or around
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  $42,000 USD, which is almost half the cost of a Model X in
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  China now. Ending a third row to the Model
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  Y was never going to be a small change.
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  Tesla had to rework the chassis and rear architecture to
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  accommodate 2 full size seats without cramping the second row.
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  Buyers in China now get a full 6C configuration with
• 1:41
  independent 2nd row captain's chairs and a fold flat 3rd row.
• 1:46
  Now, that set up not only adds flexibility, but turns the Model
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  Y into a more direct competitor to Toyota's Highlander Hybrid,
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  BUI DS Tang, and Lee Auto's L7, all of which already offer three
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  rows. Now, Tesla made the Model YL
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  exclusively at Gigafactory Shanghai, which continues to
• 2:05
  operate at Tesla's highest output plant globally.
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  By localizing both production and supply chain, Tesla avoided
• 2:12
  the delays and price markups that often come with US built
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  EVs sold into China. That move also allows the
• 2:20
  company to price the vehicle aggressively and respond to
• 2:23
  local trends faster. And for example, Chinese buyers
• 2:27
  increasingly want larger vehicles to support family
• 2:30
  travel, multi generational living and private driver use.
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  Model YL hits all three of those, and early sales have
• 2:39
  already validated that approach. Reports out of China point to
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  incredible demand, with some stores seeing their Model YL
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  demo vehicles booked solid for test drives in the first week
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  after launch. Many buyers placed deposits
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  immediately after seeing the car, and Tesla's sales staff in
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  multiple regions reportedly ran short of showroom stock within
• 3:00
  days. And Tesla hasn't released
• 3:03
  official numbers yet, but based on shipping reports, early
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  deliveries crossed into thousands before the end of
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  August. This isn't Tesla's first attempt
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  at a three row Model Y, though. In the US, the company had
• 3:16
  launched A7 seat configuration back in 2021, but it packed a
• 3:20
  third row tightly and it's a bench that most buyers ignored.
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  The version didn't gain much traction and remains A rarely
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  seen configuration in the Chinese market.
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  Model YL feels like a complete rethink or rebuild, with Tesla
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  leaning into comfort and space instead of just cramming extra
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  seats into the existing footprint.
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  Now the difference isn't just comfort.
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  Though it has a market position now, the Model X remains Tesla's
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  flagship SUV. It's about RMB 680-4900 in China
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  caters to a different bracket of consumer The Model YL sits
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  closer to the mainstream, pulling in families who want
• 4:00
  Tesla's tech and brand but need more practicality than the
• 4:04
  regular Y offers. That move can help Tesla compete
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  directly with China's expanding class of EV startups, building
• 4:11
  large format SUV's for domestic buyers.
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  Now. This rollout also double S as a
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  quiet test of Tesla's ability to localize products for specific
• 4:20
  regions. CEO Elon Musk has often said
• 4:23
  that Tesla prefers to simplify its global lineup, but the Model
• 4:27
  YL suggests that the company is willing to tweak a little bit,
• 4:30
  and the strategy is clear when they have the demand.
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  It's not clear, though, if Tesla plans to export the Model YL to
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  other markets, though nothing stops it from doing so later if
• 4:42
  demand picks up outside of China.
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  There's also manufacturing going on here.
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  Gigafactory Shanghai built the Model YL alongside the standard
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  Model Y, using the same casting and assembly lines with minimal
• 4:54
  disruption. That level of efficiency means
• 4:57
  Tesla can scale the Model YL production volume quickly
• 5:01
  without slowing down its current output.
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  It's the kind of flexibility that Tesla has built its margin
• 5:06
  story around. It's the kind of move legacy
• 5:09
  automakers still struggle to pull off.
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  And at a time when Chinese EV makers are flooding the domestic
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  market with premium tech heavy options Test found a way to make
• 5:18
  an old product feel new again. They upgraded it.
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  The Model YL doesn't just carry any major drivetrain or software
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  changes. The packaging shift alone was
• 5:29
  enough to reboot interest in the car.
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  That's kind of stagnant. It's been on sale for years and
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  China is kind of bored of it. They didn't overthink it,
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  though. They'd stretched it, added rear
• 5:42
  seats in the back and priced it right.
• 5:44
  It was enough to open up a new chapter of the Model Y in China,
• 5:48
  and we're going to see how the sales go over the next six
• 5:50
  months. We'll be reporting on that for
• 5:52
  you when the new stats come out. Hey, thank you so much for
• 6:01
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 6:03
  support. If you could take a second and
• 6:04
  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
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  appreciate it. It helps out the show
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  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
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  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
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  caught up quickly. And please, if you want to
• 6:21
  support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stagezero and
• 6:27
  please take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you
• 6:29
  tomorrow.