Tesla Stops Selling Model S & Model X in China - CleanTechnica (2025)

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Last Updated on: 12th April 2025, 12:39 am

Well, these are not exactly big sellers in China — or anywhere — but nonetheless it’s notable that Tesla has just removed the “Order” button for the Model S and Model X in China, because this is almost certainly due to Donald Trump’s tariff policies — and things could get more interesting in that regard.

In response to fresh tariffs from Donald Trump and the United States that China considers silly, the country jacked up its own tariffs on US imports — from 84% (an already ridiculously high tariff) to 125%.

With that increase in cost, Tesla has apparently decided that it doesn’t make sense to sell new Model S or Model X units in China at the moment. Whether it will change course on that at some point, we don’t know. However, Model S and Model X sales are such a small portion of Tesla’s sales that one has to wonder if there’s any real plan at all for the Model S and Model X. (Note that every single Model X SUV or Model S sedan is produced in the US.)

“Chinese customers can still purchase the vehicles from existing inventory in the country. Though Tesla only soldaround 2,000 Model S and Model X EVs in China, the move highlights the precarious situation Tesla and other automakers find themselves in amid a trade war world,” Yahoo Finance writes.

Tesla could just be figuring out the math and coming up with what will be future prices for these high-end Tesla models, while also unloading the units in inventory. But, again, it doesn’t really matter that much since sales are dominated by the Model Y and Model 3 — globally and in China.

The question is how much further this goes. With Elon Musk being very close to Donald Trump, the Chinese government could put more pressure on Musk and Tesla in order to try to go back to how things were. Tesla could end up with a much more serious problem than it’s had before if things go badly in this regard. China could put the squeeze on Tesla in a variety of ways and just let BYD, Geely, Changan, XPENG, Xiaomi, and NIO run away with the domestic auto market.

Perhaps there was great value in bringing Tesla to the Chinese market at one point, in order to excite consumers, put pressure on legacy automakers, and raise EV sales and market share. However, at this point, Chinese EV producers are quicker to innovate, have extremely compelling tech, and have released hundreds of diverse EV models. If Tesla was to suddenly disappear from the market, I don’t think a lot would change in the grand scheme of things. Other automakers would fill its place in terms of EV sales and EV market share would continue to rise up the s-curve.

Of course, at the moment, there should be no risk to pricing or sales of the Model 3 and Model Y, as Tesla does produce those models in China. However, who knows what’s in store for the future with Donald Trump acting like a bloated bull in a big blue marble.