Tesla ships more vehicles from China to North America

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Tesla is shipping another batch of vehicles from China to North America as a second ship packed with all-electric cars built at Gigafactory Shanghai is on its way to Canada.

It is a move that further solidifies Tesla’s strategy to send vehicles from Shanghai to the North American market, and it may be indicative of further shipments from China to Canada.

In late April, Reuters reported that Shanghai-built Tesla units would make their way to Canada, a switch up from CEO Elon Musk’s response to parallel rumors last year. Musk, when hearing about the initial reports last November, said it was “false” in a Tweeted response.

However, the April reports were proven to be accurate as both Model 3 and Model Y vehicles made their way to a port in Washington State on May 1.

Tesla Model 3 appears to join Model Y in export from China to Canada

Logistics records showed the vehicles came from a port in Shanghai, and images shared by ship tracker Morten Lund revealed both all-electric mass-market Tesla cars were present.

Now, Lund has confirmed that a second ship carrying Tesla vehicles has left Shanghai and is on its way to Canada, packed with vehicles that were built at the Chinese factory.

The reasons for Tesla shipping these vehicles from China to Canada ultimately catalyzes plenty of room for speculation, but it is likely that the tax credit rules from the Inflation Reduction Act have a lot to do with it.

Tesla is likely keeping U.S.-produced vehicles within the border and selling them to U.S.-based customers to take advantage of the tax credits that make the cars more affordable.

U.S.-produced EVs receive an additional bit of money off through tax credits, which means Tesla is prone to ship vehicles from China to Canada to handle demand there.

Canada also has a $5,000 incentive through the iZEV program, and it does not favor local production for consumers to receive it. Instead, it is given to any person who buys an EV, regardless of where it is built.

A second ship heading to Canada from China seems to indicate Tesla is planning to use this strategy more often.

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Tesla ships more vehicles from China to North America

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Alleged Tesla “sudden acceleration” incident was due to driver error: police

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Back in January, the West Vancouver Police announced that they were investigating an incident involving a Tesla Model 3 that crashed into a BC Ferries ramp at Horseshoe Bay terminal. The Tesla reportedly “suddenly accelerated” into a gate, destroying the vehicle and damaging the structure. 

The crash was quite severe, with the Tesla breaking in two because of the impact. The ferry structure also incurred damage. The driver of the Tesla and a passenger were both taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. 

Police at the time noted that alcohol did not seem to be involved at all, and they would be investigating whether the incident was caused by driver error or a mechanical issue. 

As per a recent report from North Shore News, the investigation into the incident has now been completed. Based on the findings of the investigators, the crash was caused by the vehicle’s driver, not a “sudden acceleration” issue with the Tesla. 

“Following an analysis of the vehicle data, the investigators determined the collision to be human-caused,” said West Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Mark McLean.

The West Vancouver Police Department spokesperson also noted that the driver of the Tesla involved in the crash, a 68-year-old Vancouver man, received a ticket for driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act.

Other details of the incident were updated by authorities. At the time of the collision, McLean estimated that the damage to the ferry structure from the Tesla crash would exceed $30,000. However, in recent statements, BC Ferries noted that the damage from the incident was “in the thousands.”

Tesla has consistently maintained that there is no such thing as “unintended acceleration” in its vehicles. And while claims of “sudden acceleration” in Teslas have been brought forward in the past, there has yet to be an incident where such claims have been proven. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) alone conducted investigations into over 200 crashes involving Teslas, but the agency ultimately concluded that the incidents were due to user error.

“While accidents caused by a mistaken press of the accelerator pedal have been alleged for nearly every make/model of vehicle on the road, the accelerator pedals in Model S, X, and 3 vehicles have two independent position sensors. If there is any error, the system defaults to cut off motor torque. Likewise, applying the brake pedal simultaneously with the accelerator pedal will override the accelerator pedal input and cut off motor torque. Regardless of the torque, sustained braking will stop the car,” Tesla noted.

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Alleged Tesla “sudden acceleration” incident in Canada was due to driver error: police

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Tesla wows Deutsche Bank in Giga Texas tour, analysts are ‘all in’

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In a meeting with Deutsche Bank analysts, Tesla revealed a massive amount of information, which resulted in the analysts maintaining their high price target and buy rating.

While incredibly entertaining, Tesla’s shareholder meeting earlier this week did not reveal all of the information that many fans and analysts were looking for. Nonetheless, with the message supplied, Tesla stock rallied following the announcements. Now, a new report from Deutsche Bank analysts gives fans and investors more good reasons to be optimistic.

According to a new report from Investing.com, Tesla executives met with analysts from Deutsche Bank following the Shareholder Meeting earlier this week. During the meeting, analysts were given a tour of Giga Texas and a deeper look at Tesla’s plans. From their discussion, Deutsche Bank has decided to maintain its $200 price target and buy rating for the Tesla stock.

“All in,” the Deutsche Bank report began. “We came away encouraged that Tesla could deliver cost improvements and efficiencies in the quarter ahead, which may help offset some of the pressures, but we still worry the company may have to take additional price cuts in a weakening environment, which could put further pressure on earnings.”

Most notably, according to the notes from Deutsche Bank analysts, Tesla executives revealed that the company has been considering advertising for months but were prompted to act after seeing the enthusiasm from the group of Tesla investors. Tesla believes that, besides attracting new customers to the brand, its marketing could also help address buyers’ misconceptions regarding battery life/range, charging and charging availability, and the general durability of electric vehicles.

Other points from the meeting, while less revealing, should also provide good insight to investors. Deutsche Bank analysts specifically noted that manufacturing improvements at Giga Texas would likely help Tesla maintain high profitability, despite the economic headwinds that Elon Musk pointed out during the Shareholder Meeting. Moreover, the analysts were incredibly impressed by the progress on tooling for the upcoming Cybertruck, which will be revealed fully in Q3 of this year.

Specifically, analysts stated that Giga Texas was “well designed and runs very efficiently, and is clearly making good progress in ramping up both vehicles and battery cells volumes, and in installing tooling for Cybertruck.”

The final notes from the Deutsche Bank investors were regarding Tesla’s financials and how they will likely change in the coming months and years. The analysts, agreeing with Elon Musk, believe that economic headwinds and a slight lull in EV demand may force the brand to cut prices further. Still, margins should be maintained thanks to a combination of falling material costs, dropping manufacturing costs, and a growing number of offerings. This makes Tesla reasonably unique within the automotive segment, which has seen shrinking profitability following the first quarter of the year.

“Mid-term,” the Deutsche Bank analysts conclude, “Tesla confirmed that it is working on developing two new models on its next-gen platform and represent its highest priority at present. We are also encouraged by the targeted combined unit volume of 5 million, and we remain bullish on the opportunity presented within the next-gen platform.”

Tesla stock finished the week up nearly 7%.

William is a Tesla shareholder but does not have funds managed by Deutsche Bank.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

Tesla wows Deutsche Bank in Giga Texas tour, analysts are ‘all in’

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