"Tesla sold 3,635 vehicles in April, down from around 10,160 units in March, CPCA data showed. CPCA uses a different counting method than Tesla's deliveries." (source business insider)
IMO, as the US anti-China rhetoric intensifies, Chinese consumer sentiment towards US brands will be negatively impacted and brands' cheap Chinese made products are, at present, virtually locked out of the US market due to Trump tariffs on "Made in China". & China's production subsidies which would preclude it from EU markets.
Add to this the economics of continuing to produce RHD for the UK, Japan & Australia. GM pulled the pin on global RHD vehicle manufacturing in February of this year which even for a biggie like GM , was not economically viable. This is the reason for Holden having to shut shop in June!.
This has motivated Apple to up US production exclusively for the US domestic market.and continue Chinese production for the rest of the world.
The question is can Telsa make profit by dividing production into two jurisdictions with low volume? Annualised , the Chinese factory is producing about 10K units a month with a capacity of 150K unita P/A.
I guess time will tell or will Tesla, like UK & Sweedish manufacturers, eventually fall to Asian ownership or worse still go the way of De-Lorean and other niche market manufacturers?
