“The country that currently loves Elon Musk the most is probably Turkey,” writes the newspaper Hurriyet.
While Tesla sales are falling in many markets, such as the US, Europe, and China, in Turkey, cars are literally running out.
In Europe, Tesla sales fell 49% in April, reaching 7,000 units. Similarly, the electric car manufacturer saw a 6% decline in China, one of its largest markets, while sales in the US fell by 13% in the first quarter of the year.
At the same time, the company also suffered significant profit losses in the first quarter. This is mainly due to Musk's political involvement, but also to increasing competition in the electric vehicle sector.
However, thanks to its competitive prices, strong demand in Turkey is providing Musk with much-needed support.
In order to keep the new Model Y within the 10% special consumption tax (ÖTV), the company applied a special discount and set the price of this model in Turkey at 1.87 million Turkish lira (about $47,990). Demand is estimated to be huge.
According to Hürriyet, last week, when the Model Y went back on sale, the surge in demand caused the brand's website to crash. Consumers were unable to access the site, and stocks were depleted in a short time.
On social media, some consumers claim to have purchased the cars by accessing the site via VPN from foreign countries, while others who were blocked by the VPN restriction sent letters of complaint to Musk.
Due to the requirement for delivery within 45 days, Tesla can only gradually open a limited number of cars for orders.
However, the number of orders for the new Model Y in Turkey quickly exceeded 5,000.
Tesla Europe & Middle East also made a statement on the matter due to high demand.
 The statement said: “We are very excited about the incredible demand for the Model Y in Turkey. Our last available units sold out in minutes. We apologize for any technical issues that may have occurred during the sales process.” | BGNES