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Tesla China has denied recent rumors suggesting that the Cybertruck would start sales in China on January 1, 2025.
Tesla China’s Denial:
- A spokesperson from Tesla China clarified to the National Business Daily (NBD) that rumors suggesting that the Cybertruck will start sales in China on January 1, 2025 are false information.
- The Tesla China spokesperson also highlighted that there are “no such plans” for the Cybertruck to start sales in the country next month.
Rumors and Speculations:
- Speculations of the Cybertruck’s alleged entry to the Chinese market were sparked this month.
- Tesla had filed for an energy consumption measurement for the Cybertruck at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
- The Cybertruck received an automobile energy consumption label from the MIIT on December 11, classifying the Cybertruck as an M1 passenger car with a 618 km range.
- This filing was revoked over unknown reasons, however.
- More recently, Tesla’s Chinese website was updated with information about the Cybertruck’s three trims.
China’s pickup truck market:
- Pickup trucks in China, including electric ones, face notable market restrictions. Their speed is limited on highways, and they face a mandatory scrapping requirement after 15 years of use.
- As per the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), only 427,000 units of pickup trucks were sold from January to October 2024.
- In comparison, passenger car sales, which include sedans, SUVs, and MPVs, have totaled 17.84 million units in the same period.
- China has shown some interest in the Cybertruck, as evidenced by the attention that the vehicle received when it toured the country earlier this year.
Musk’s Comments:
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk had previously commented on the challenges of making the Cybertruck road-legal in China, stating in a post on X that “Getting Cybertruck road legal in China would be very difficult, but we could ship some prototypes over for display.”
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