Tesla Australia says it's focused on cars, not Elon Musk
Tesla's Australian division says its main focus right now is to get people behind the wheel of its cars, including the facelifted
Tesla Model Y
, amid persistent US reports about the electric vehicle (EV) company's controversial CEO Elon Musk and his involvement with the Trump administration.
While it's impossible to draw direct correlations between Mr Musk's political endeavours and the carmaker's sales performance, Tesla's local sales have undoubtedly been on a significant downward spiral over the past 12 months.
In April 2025, Tesla managed just
500 deliveries for the entire month
, almost 76 per cent fewer EVs than it sold in the same month last year, placing it 23rd on the sales chart just ahead of Porsche, but behind other luxury brands like Land Rover and Audi.
Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal.
Browse now
.
Meantime, key rival BYD sold more than six times the number of vehicles last month (3207), over 127 per cent up on April 2024 and placing it 10th overall for the month.
Year to date, Australian Tesla sales are now almost 62 per cent down.
Asked about the potential impact of Mr Musk's high-profile activities in the US on local sales and perceptions of his company, Tesla Australia country director Thom Drew said he preferred to focus on Tesla's vehicles rather than its CEO's politics.
'Externally, looking at any of these political factors, is going to have some kind of influence, depending on what people see in the media, so that would likely be having an impact on people engaging with us,' he told CarExpert at this week's Australian launch of the facelifted 2025 Tesla Model Y.
'We're trying to take this as an opportunity to remind the Australian public of our products and how great they are.'
The Model Y's midlife 'Juniper' facelift brings a raft of updates including revised suspension, tweaked interior equipment, increased range, and Cybertruck-inspired styling.
The Model Y was unavailable for several months in the lead up to first deliveries of the facelifted mid-size electric SUV, heavily impacting the American brand's local sales given the model's status as its best-selling vehicle and Australia's favourite EV in 2024.
'Obviously [with] a new Model Y coming up, we're focusing on that, and then also our local business,' said Mr Drew.
'So far, the response has been amazing. We've only just started test drives of [the Model Y] within the past few weeks in Australia, and we've had record test drive numbers than we've had in our entire time in the country.
'[That's] partly why we've been trying to make sure people can see into Tesla Australia, and who we are as an established brand here, [to] help solidify why we still remain the number one EV brand in the country.'
MORE:
Tesla revenue plunges as global sales slump
MORE:
No love for Elon Musk? Tesla owners are ditching their cars at record rates
MORE:
Tesla vandalism and fake ads highlight anti-Elon Musk sentiment
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
31 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Geely's first model in Australia gets its first running updates over the air
Geely Auto Australia has announced the first over-the-air (OTA) update for its inaugural model, the Geely EX5 mid-size electric SUV, which will be progressively rolled out to customers across the country. In a media release issued this week, Geely says its first OTA update will change the low-speed pedestrian alert sound 'to a more traditional humming tone, which will be less prominent in the [vehicle's] cabin'. Further, the update also brings 'enhancements to the vehicle's software, including optimised CarbitLink performance and improved range calculation when route planning in the Navigation app'. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Geely Auto Australia CEO Lei Li said this first set of running changes are in response to initial customer feedback. 'Our team has analysed feedback direct from our customers and dealer network, and worked on an update that we're sure will make experiences with the Geely EX5 even more enjoyable,' Mr Li said. 'Geely actively listens to feedback so we can provide the right products for the local market; this step is one of the many actions that we can take in order to provide high value vehicles to our ever-dynamic Australian customers.' To access and apply this update, owners should navigate to the 'My Car' menu on their EX5's infotainment screen. The company recommends connecting to Wi-Fi or a smartphone hotspot before initiating the update 'to ensure a stable connection during download'. More information can be accessed at the Geely Auto Australia website. Supplied Credit: CarExpert The Chinese brand has already confirmed the next OTA update will be the addition of Apple CarPlay functionality, expected to become available mid-way through the third quarter of 2025 (July-September). Android Auto will follow, 'with anticipated delivery in late 2025'. To the end of May 2025, Geely has registered 1023 new EX5 vehicles in Australia. It's the first model to be launched as part of the Chinese brand's renewed assault on the Australian market. Next cab off the rank for the Chinese brand is expected to be a plug-in hybrid version of the EX5 – a direct rival for the top-selling Tesla Model Y – known abroad as the Geely Galaxy Starship 7. The SUV is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor that is fed by either an 8.5kWh or 19.09kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. EV range is claimed to be 55-120km depending on battery variant. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Stay tuned to CarExpert for all the latest MORE: Everything Geely EX5
7NEWS
33 minutes ago
- 7NEWS
Lotto draw 1517: The ‘hot' and ‘cold' numbers you need to know ahead of tonight's Powerball's $100 million jackpot
About 10 million Australians are expected to take a punt on winning a whopping nine-figure sum of money. Powerball has jackpotted to $100 million and Thursday's draw 1517 is the highest lottery prize of the year. The last time a jackpot of such magnitude was up for grabs, ticket sales peaked at more than 6400 a minute. Only six people have won $100 million or more in Australian lotteries since 2018, with the seventh possible on Thursday evening. On Thursday, The Lott's Anna Hobdell joined Nat Barr on Sunrise, saying the best way to increase your chances is with a PowerHit ticket for the multimillion-dollar draw. 'We know many Aussies are vying for the chance to score the multimillion-dollar prize, and the best way to get a ticket is a PowerHit. It is a unique entry type to Powerball. 'It guarantees you the all-important Powerball needed to win Division One and a lot of people don't realise it is equivalent to 20 games. That's top tip for tonight's draw.' Hobdell then spoke of hot and cold numbers. Hot numbers being the most likely to be drawn out of the barrel, while cold numbers are the least likely to be drawn. 'When it comes to Powerball, our hot numbers from the main barrel are 9,17, 7, and you have also got your Powerball barrel which are 2 and 4,' Hobdell said. 'Our cold numbers are 33, 31, 29 from the main barrel, and the cold numbers from the Powerball barrel are numbers 14 and 12.' Hobdell explained how most winners spent their money. 'When we have surveyed our Division One winners months after the draw, we found that most of them invest for the future or perhaps help their nearest and dearest,' Hobdell said. 'We actually interviewed one of our winners recently who won $100 million, and she told us that she has bought a beachside property.' A Queensland woman was the last person to take home $100 million in February 2024, pocketing half of a $200 million Powerball jackpot. She has moved from Brisbane to the coast and says she is thankful for her dad, who picked up the winning phone call early in the morning. 'On a day-to-day basis, not a huge amount has changed,' the winner, who remained anonymous, said. 'I still get up for the 6am gym session and the dog still needs to be walked and fed.' An Adelaide man still holds the country's largest pay cheque from a lottery jackpot, after winning $150 million in May 2024. The odds of a single entry winning the division-one prize are more than 134 million to one. That's worse than successfully ringing someone by completely guessing their mobile number. - with AAP
7NEWS
33 minutes ago
- 7NEWS
Geely's first model in Australia gets its first running updates over the air
Geely Auto Australia has announced the first over-the-air (OTA) update for its inaugural model, the Geely EX5 mid-size electric SUV, which will be progressively rolled out to customers across the country. In a media release issued this week, Geely says its first OTA update will change the low-speed pedestrian alert sound 'to a more traditional humming tone, which will be less prominent in the [vehicle's] cabin'. Further, the update also brings 'enhancements to the vehicle's software, including optimised CarbitLink performance and improved range calculation when route planning in the Navigation app'. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Geely Auto Australia CEO Lei Li said this first set of running changes are in response to initial customer feedback. 'Our team has analysed feedback direct from our customers and dealer network, and worked on an update that we're sure will make experiences with the Geely EX5 even more enjoyable,' Mr Li said. 'Geely actively listens to feedback so we can provide the right products for the local market; this step is one of the many actions that we can take in order to provide high value vehicles to our ever-dynamic Australian customers.' To access and apply this update, owners should navigate to the 'My Car' menu on their EX5's infotainment screen. The company recommends connecting to Wi-Fi or a smartphone hotspot before initiating the update 'to ensure a stable connection during download'. More information can be accessed at the Geely Auto Australia website. The Chinese brand has already confirmed the next OTA update will be the addition of Apple CarPlay functionality, expected to become available mid-way through the third quarter of 2025 (July-September). Android Auto will follow, 'with anticipated delivery in late 2025'. To the end of May 2025, Geely has registered 1023 new EX5 vehicles in Australia. It's the first model to be launched as part of the Chinese brand's renewed assault on the Australian market. Next cab off the rank for the Chinese brand is expected to be a plug-in hybrid version of the EX5 – a direct rival for the top-selling Tesla Model Y – known abroad as the Geely Galaxy Starship 7. The SUV is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor that is fed by either an 8.5kWh or 19.09kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. EV range is claimed to be 55-120km depending on battery variant. Stay tuned to CarExpert for all the latest
