Tesla’s Shanghai Exports Jump 66% in October

Tesla’s Shanghai factory recorded higher wholesale shipments in October than a year earlier, with a 66.3% jump in exports more than offsetting lower sales within China.

New China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data released Monday puts Tesla China’s exports at 59,012 vehicles, or 87% of its 67,829 wholesale shipments. Subtracting exports leaves 8,817 vehicles for the domestic market, down 66.1% from a year earlier.

The export breakdown adds an important piece to October’s initial wholesale figures. Shanghai’s total was up 10.3% year over year, but that growth was driven by overseas shipments rather than sales within China.

Exports climbed 66.3% from 35,491 vehicles in October 2025. Back then, overseas shipments made up about 58% of the monthly total, while domestic sales reached 26,006. This October’s split was considerably more tilted toward exports.

The comparison with September is also stark. Tesla’s Shanghai plant had just posted its strongest wholesale month of 2026 at 95,366 vehicles, including 30,529 exports. October’s total fell 28.9% from that level, even as exports nearly doubled.

These are wholesale shipment figures, not a measure of vehicles produced during October. Giga Shanghai builds the Model 3 and Model Y for China and overseas markets, so the domestic-export mix matters when judging a single month’s results. October’s wholesale total comprised 38,567 Model Ys and 29,262 Model 3s.

In August 2022, Musk’s Weibo account described building cars for export in the first half of each quarter and for local buyers in the second. That October, Tesla said it had begun moving toward a more even regional mix of vehicle builds each week. Those historical statements do not establish why October 2026’s export share rose.

The wider market was softer too, though by much less. China’s battery-electric passenger-car retail sales fell 5.3% year over year to 770,000 in October, according to the CPCA’s latest figures.

Tesla entered November with updated discounts and financing offers in China, including a ¥10,000 final-payment discount on the Model 3 and ¥4,000 on the Model Y. November’s results should offer another look at how the domestic and export sides of Shanghai’s business are balancing out.

Will Tesla’s November offers bring more Chinese buyers back?