Electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) is under fire in China, where rival Xiaomi (XIACF) managed to pull ahead of one of Tesla’s leading sales models. The loss of the top slot hit investors, and they responded accordingly, sending shares slipping down fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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When Tesla launched the Model 3 in China, back in 2019, it was a big deal. Chinese carbuyers rushed to pick up their own model, and things were going well. But a major milestone proved bad news for Tesla, as Xiaomi managed to outsell Tesla for the first time. Tesla’s Model 3 featured 200,361 deliveries in 2025. But the SU7 from Xiaomi managed to blow that figure out of the water with 258,164 deliveries in the same period.
What is perhaps more telling is that the SU7 only launched in 2024. And as it turned out, the SU7 actually beats the Model 3 on several points. The base prices on the SU7 are about 9% cheaper than the Model 3, reports note, and the SU7 offers around 10% greater range than the Model 3 does as well. Plus, the SU7 comes with an array of features that the Model 3 does not, which gives Xiaomi’s entry a lot of advantage over the Tesla.
Charge Cable Release
Meanwhile, Tesla released a software update that will come as a welcome fix to a lot of drivers facing the cold weather. Charge cables can get stuck in the charge port, especially during the cold, as the port freezes shut. But the new software update will allow for a manual release.
All drivers need to do is pull and hold the left rear door handle for three seconds, and the system will stop charging and release the charge cable. The vehicle touchscreen and the Tesla app will still do the job as well, reports note, though the vehicle will either need to be unlocked or have a recognized key in the immediate area.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 10 Buys, eight Holds, and seven Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 9.32% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $398.38 per share implies 8.02% downside risk.
