Tesla (TSLA) attributed its poor Q1 performance to China, where sales and exports slowed in April despite the automaker increasing production of the new Model Y.

Official data on domestic passenger car sales and exports has been provided by China. According to the report, Tesla sold 28,731 vehicles in China in April, an 8.6% decrease from the previous year. Furthermore, Tesla shipped 29,728 vehicles, a 3.3% drop from the year before.

When comparing Q1 2025 to the same period in the previous two years, Tesla's monthly retail and export numbers in China trended downward, but the automaker attributed this to the Model Y production switch.

Although it undoubtedly had an effect, Electrek previously revealed that Tesla swiftly slashed prices in China even though the company benefited from the introduction of the updated Model Y. This suggests that reduced deliveries were caused by demand in addition to the first quarter's limited supply of the Model Y.

According to reports, Tesla is back to business as usual in April, but both domestic and export deliveries are lower than in April 2024—which was already much lower than in 2023.