According to Yiou Automotive, as of September 28, 2024, Tesla's Gigafactory in China has exported a cumulative total of 1 million Chinese-made Teslas to various markets, including Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
This demonstrates that Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as a globally recognized promoter of Tesla, has significantly boosted Chinese manufacturing.
Recently, the Tesla Model 3, a model that has received both praise and criticism, earned another accolade.
At the 2024 "Shanghai Design 100+" event held at the Expo Creative Show Venue on Bansongyuan Road in Huangpu District, the Model 3 from Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was honored as one of the Top 100 out of 2,745 entries from 19 countries and regions, including China, the United States, France, Italy, and Brazil.
As a classic model that saved Tesla from the brink of collapse, the Model 3 has been a flagbearer for Tesla's rapid development. However, due to Tesla's cost pricing theory, the Model 3 has seen repeated price cuts, causing many Tesla users to express their disappointment, jokingly referring to themselves as "Tesla's leeks."
Despite this, users have a love-hate relationship with Tesla; they complain yet continue to buy, comforting themselves with the mantra of "buy early, enjoy early."
Though the Model 3 has seen few updates, it remains one of the best-selling cars globally, proving its strong credentials for making the "2024 Shanghai Design Top 100" list.
Yiou Automotive learned that the Model 3 continues to embody Tesla's design philosophy based on first principles, prioritizing safety while balancing innovation and intelligence. For example, its integrated multifunction steering wheel replaces traditional stalks, simplifying driving operations and gaining market recognition. Since the first batch of Chinese-made Model 3s was successfully exported to Europe in October 2020, Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory has quickly risen as a crucial automotive export hub, continuously pushing Chinese manufacturing onto the global stage.
In October 2020, the first batch of 7,000 Chinese-made Model 3s was exported to the European market, taking less than a year from domestic launch to export. Subsequently, Model 3 and Model Y produced at the Shanghai Gigafactory have been exported to various domestic and international markets.
On the international market, Tesla has won the hearts of many overseas users.
Recently, the Australian automotive trading platform Carsales released its 2024 electric vehicle rankings, with the rear-wheel-drive version of the Tesla Model Y winning "Best Family Electric Vehicle of 2024," and the rear-wheel-drive version of the Model 3 being named "Best Urban Electric Vehicle of 2024." These honors further validate the popularity of Tesla models worldwide, especially in countries like Norway, where electric vehicle adoption is extremely high. In Norway, one in every five new cars is a Tesla, and the Model Y has consistently held the sales champion position for multiple quarters.
As a key part of Tesla's global strategy, the Shanghai Gigafactory is not only a model of Chinese manufacturing going global but also a core force in Tesla's global export center and production base. As of September 28, 2024, the factory has exported a cumulative total of 1 million Chinese-made Teslas to various markets, signifying that in less than four years, 1 million Chinese-made Teslas have been sold internationally. The Model Y has also remained at the top of sales charts both domestically and internationally since last year.
In colder climates, Tesla has also garnered consumer favor. According to OFV statistics, in Norway, the number of electric vehicles has surpassed that of gasoline vehicles. In August alone, electric vehicles accounted for 94.3% of new car registrations, "primarily due to the hot sales of the Tesla Model Y." For a long time, the sales champion in Norway's automotive market has seldom changed-since the third quarter of 2021, the Model Y has maintained its position as the local sales leader for 13 consecutive quarters. In May of this year, Tore O. Sandvik, Norway's State Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, visited Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory and stated, "Tesla possesses leading technology in the electric vehicle sector and is the most popular car in the Norwegian market."
Additionally, Tesla is actively exploring renewable energy applications and advancing the research and production of battery storage products.
The Tesla energy storage Gigafactory in Lingang, Shanghai, is under rapid construction. As of the end of September, the main plant construction progress has exceeded 60%, with production expected to officially commence in the first quarter of next year. The factory is planned to produce 10,000 commercial storage batteries (Megapack) annually, with a storage capacity of nearly 40 GWh, catering to the global market. The completion of this factory will further enhance Tesla's footprint in the sustainable energy sector and provide new momentum for its international market development.
At the 2024 Shanghai World Design Capital Conference's industrial ecology session, Tesla shared its design vision, showcasing its first principles design philosophy across four dimensions: product design, spatial design, industrial architectural design, and user experience. Tesla's design language consistently emphasizes safety, efficiency, and simplicity, with user experience prioritized. Tesla's hidden door handles, Yoke steering wheel, and central touchscreen shifting innovations not only enhance the vehicle's practicality and aesthetics but also showcase Tesla's profound expertise and forward-looking vision in design.
The design of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory and its direct experience stores also follows first principles, optimizing production efficiency and cost control. The factory integrates stamping, welding, painting, and final assembly processes "under one roof," achieving a "Tesla speed" where a vehicle rolls off the line every 30 seconds. This efficient production model not only improves land resource and space utilization but also significantly reduces logistics costs and production cycles, providing strong support for Tesla's rapid development in the global market.
During the Tesla ecological session, guest speaker Xu Lei introduced that "the upgradeable vehicle system and minimalist interior style allow vehicle designs to remain timeless." Tesla has created many "firsts" in vehicle design.
Tesla was the first passenger car brand to incorporate features like hidden door handles, Yoke steering wheels, and central touchscreen shifting into mass-produced vehicles. In Tesla models, these industry-first designs have unique insights: the hidden door handle design reduces vehicle air resistance and optimizes range; the Yoke steering wheel offers sensitive handling and clearer visibility, enhancing driving safety.
As early as 2009, Tesla introduced the smart central control touchscreen in the Model S, a design that predated the first-generation iPad by a year. Through this screen, owners can easily control various functions with simple taps, simplifying complex operations. Following the first principles philosophy, the 2023 updated Model 3 eliminates the stalks, using a single control panel for functions like voice control, wipers, and high beams, making driving operations more convenient.
The first principles philosophy permeates every aspect of Tesla's design, from product design to spatial design and industrial design. The design of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory and its direct experience stores also adheres to this principle.
The Shanghai Gigafactory is Tesla's first entirely self-designed vehicle superfactory, integrating stamping, welding, painting, and final assembly processes "under one roof," ultimately achieving the "Tesla speed" of a vehicle rolling off the line every 30 seconds. As Tesla's first fully self-designed vehicle superfactory, its production layout greatly enhances efficiency, ensuring a smooth production rhythm while saving space and resources and reducing logistics steps, improving overall production efficiency.
"Tightening the logistics links between processes saves time, effort, and money. The unified factory design not only greatly improves land resource and space utilization but also means higher production efficiency and better cost control," Tesla told Yiou Automotive.
Looking ahead, Tesla will continue to adhere to the first principles design philosophy, driving technological innovation and product upgrades to provide global consumers with safer, more efficient, and smarter travel experiences. At the same time, Tesla will strengthen its global market layout and capacity building, contributing to the sustainable development of the global automotive industry.
