Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | BYD versus Tesla: Let merit decide pole position Refreshes of both models over the past two years have not addressed a basic truth. As with the S and X, these are old models in a fast-evolving market. Nowhere is that more evident than in China, where few care about Musk’s relationship with MAGA, but drivers do want the latest technology at an affordable price. Tesla’s sales slide there stems largely from its ageing lineup being overtaken by a range of competitors offering equal or better vehicles at lower prices. The recent release of Xiaomi Corp’s YU7 SUV epitomizes the challenge. Tesla’s stock, characteristically, went higher on the morning of 2 July on the back of unambiguously bad numbers. The justification for such exuberance is collapsing, though. Tesla is clearly no longer primed for dominance in EVs, losing share in China, Europe and its domestic market, with Morgan Stanley estimating an 8.8% drop in Tesla’s US sales in June against a 1.7% increase for battery-run EVs overall. And this is before the impact of EV tax credits being removed by the Republican majority Musk helped elect. In terms of automation, Chinese competitors are already offering as standard the kind of advanced driver assistance features that Tesla upsells for thousands of dollars. That leaves the US robotaxi dream—and even there, the Austin pilot isn’t so much proof of concept as a demonstration that Tesla has much to prove, relative to Musk’s rhetoric at least. Tesla’s buoyant stock owes everything to a persistent US-centric perception of technology leadership that cannot be found in the actual numbers. ©Bloomberg The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy. Gift this article