In China, Tesla's Cybertruck EV draws gawkers - and orders - despite 2-year delivery wait

Tesla's Cybertruck electric vehicle (EV), which is not yet available in mainland China, created a buzz at an industrial show in Shanghai as Chinese consumers remain keenly interested in the US carmaker's new products despite flagging sales of its Model 3 and Model Y.

Dozens of visitors to the Carbon Neutrality Expo flocked to Tesla's booth on Thursday afternoon to gaze at the angular pickup, with some placing orders despite an expected wait of at least two years. In stark contrast, few visitors showed up at booths displaying battery-powered cars from BYD, Nio and Changan.

The fanfare surrounding the Cybertruck, which Tesla started delivering in the US in November, came after the company's Gigafactory in Shanghai posted a 16.7 month-on-month rise in deliveries in May.

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The factory, which builds the Model 3 and Model Y for domestic sales and export to international markets, delivered 72,573 units last month, compared with 62,167 in April, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed.

The Cybertruck is worth a long wait because the one-of-a-kind vehicle is a symbol of the future of mobility, said Tian Qingwen, a professor at North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, who has ordered one.

"I was told that it will not be delivered before 2026 due to overwhelming demand from people around the globe," he said. "But it is a dream vehicle that I definitely will buy and own."

A Tesla sales employee confirmed that the company received a number of orders for the Cybertruck during the four-day carbon-neutrality expo, which started on Wednesday.

The EV, which has a base price of US$60,990 for the rear-wheel drive model in the US, has yet to be delivered to mainland consumers, although the company has been taking orders in China since 2021.

"Tesla is the global pioneer driving electrification of the automotive industry," said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. "Apart from the Cybertruck, Chinese consumers are also expecting Elon Musk to test its FSD [Full Self-Driving] autonomous driving software here."

Reuters reported last week that Tesla was preparing to register FSD with Chinese authorities to pave the way for it to be tested on the mainland.

A Tesla Cybertruck sits in front of a home in Silicon Valley in the US. Photo: DPA alt=A Tesla Cybertruck sits in front of a home in Silicon Valley in the US. Photo: DPA>

Tesla deliveries increased by 37 per cent to 603,664 last year in mainland China, making it the company's second-largest market. In the US, the company's largest market, sales increased by a quarter to 654,888 in 2023.

Tesla did not attend the Shanghai Auto Show last year and was absent from the Auto China Show in Beijing in April - the two largest automotive events in China - because of worries about unfortunate incidents, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

In April 2021 the company faced a social-media backlash from Chinese customers after a woman in a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "brake malfunction" and a Tesla logo jumped on top of a Tesla on display at the Shanghai Auto Show. She was aiming to draw attention to a crash involving her Model 3, which she blamed on the company.

Tesla later released a data log from the car to the owner, bowing to pressure from the market regulator.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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