'Korea is Awesome': Elon Musk waves South Korean flag as Tesla Model Y tops sales chart

Model Y becomes first import to outsell all domestic cars

Musk posts South Korean flag emoji, 'Korea is Awesome'

A post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on X on Tuesday. [Screen capture from X]

Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the South Korean market after the Model Y topped domestic auto sales last month.

Musk posted a South Korean flag emoji alongside the message "Korea is Awesome" on social media platform X on Monday local time.

He also shared a post noting that the Model Y had become the best-selling car in South Korea, highlighting that it had outsold not just imported vehicles but every car on the market.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, the Model Y sold 8,762 units in South Korea last month — more than 900 units ahead of the Kia Sorento, which ranked first among domestic models and second overall with 7,836 units sold.

It marked the first time an imported model had outsold all domestic models to claim the top spot in the South Korean market, and the first time an electric vehicle had ranked No. 1 in overall sales.

The Tesla Model Y. [Screen capture from Tesla Korea website]

Tesla's overall brand sales are also growing quickly. The company sold 10,866 units in South Korea last month, surpassing BMW (6,555 units) and Mercedes-Benz (3,553 units) to rank first among imported car brands. Tesla has now held the top spot among import brands in the South Korean market for four consecutive months.

Industry observers attribute the surge to Tesla's decision to lower the Model Y's price by shifting production to China. The Model Y starts at 49.99 million won (about $32,300) before subsidies, which bring the price down further. The Kia Sorento hybrid starts at 38.96 million won, meaning the gap between the two brands' flagship models has narrowed considerably.

Some in the industry warn that Tesla's success in softening resistance to Chinese-made models — combined with growing demand for competitively priced electric vehicles — could threaten Hyundai Motor and Kia on their home turf. BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle maker that entered the South Korean market last year, has also sold more than 1,000 units a month for three consecutive months through last month.

"Tesla, which succeeded last year by marketing its supervised Full Self-Driving system, is now competing on price against Hyundai Motor and Kia," said Lee Ho-geun, a professor in the future automotive engineering department at Daeduk University. "Price competitiveness in electric vehicles will ultimately determine demand."

국내 전기차 5대 중 1대는 테슬라…모델Y, ‘국민차’ 등극[여車저車]

21일 카이즈유 데이터 연구소에 따르면 2014년부터 올해 4월까지 국내에 등록된 테슬라 차량은 총 18만7871대로, 같은 기간 국내 전기 승용차 누적 등록대수는 86만1382대

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10742961

eyre@heraldcorp.com