In Episode 11 of At The Wheel, Joe White and Tu Le unpack one of the biggest developments in the global automotive industry: Tesla’s weakening sales and the accelerating rise of China’s EV giants.
Tesla’s once unstoppable growth story is suddenly under pressure. Sales are down sharply in Europe, China, and the United States, while Chinese automakers like BYD, Geely, Chery, and XPeng continue expanding both domestically and globally.
Joe and Tu break down:
Why Tesla’s global sales growth has stalled despite strong EV market growth
How China’s EV market is reshaping the global automotive industry
The reality of Tesla’s idle capacity in Shanghai and Berlin gigafactories
Why Chinese automakers are rapidly expanding into Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia
Porsche’s dramatic sales collapse in China
The growing pressure on legacy automakers to adapt to China’s EV dominance
Europe’s escalating debate over phasing out combustion engines by 2035
The episode also explores how geopolitics, trade tensions, and evolving technology are reshaping the future of the global auto industry.
As China pushes toward 80% electrification of its auto market by 2040, the stakes for Tesla, Detroit, and Europe have never been higher.
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⏱ YouTube Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 Intro – Tesla’s Global Sales Problems
01:41 Tesla Sales Decline Explained
03:08 Tesla’s China Production Dependence
05:02 Idle Gigafactory Capacity in Berlin & Shanghai
07:10 Rising Competition From Chinese EV Makers
09:05 Why Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y Are Aging
12:08 Tesla’s Global Market Challenges
15:27 China EV Export Boom
18:03 Tesla vs China EV Companies
20:47 Michael Burry’s Tesla Criticism
24:18 XPeng’s AI Strategy
28:08 Global EV Competition Explained
31:35 Europe’s Combustion Engine Ban Debate
34:18 Legacy Automakers Under Pressure
37:07 EV Demand and Market Dynamics
40:20 Final Thoughts
