Can Tesla stage a comeback in Israel in 2025?

Last week, Tesla launched the new generation of Y, its best -selling model, in Israel. Two or three years ago, this event was to talk about the car import market, but now it has now passed under the radar. The main reason is that Tesla now has dozens of competitors in her company, and almost every month joins more models, especially from China.

However, there is another reason, and this is the “global noise” surrounding the political activities of Elon Musk, which blocked the border between Tesla, the manufacturer of innovative electric cars, and Tesla as the business arm of politician, politician and right -off Trump. This noise has already cut off the company's shares from its performance in the car market (a decrease of 18 % last month), which led China threatening sanctions on Tesla in light of the tariff policy in Trump, and in recent weeks the demonstrators brought to the company's showrooms in the United States to protest against The budget discounts by its CEO.

Tesla also faces major challenges in Israel, which, at least at the present time, focuses only on the vehicle market. Although Tesla 2024 ended, an increase of 21 % in delivery operations to Israel compared to 2023, after a strong final quarter, its share of all delivery operations in the electric car market in Israel reached 12.2 % in 2024 compared to 57 % in its first year. In the market. The big question is whether Tesla will be able to restore its location, or will it continue to wear in the face of the increasing competition.

A weak competitive position

Tesla 2025 starts from a problem starting point in competitive conditions, after the price increased in early January after increasing the purchase tax. As a result, it is in a competitive position weaker than it was in the past year, with a gap in the price of tens of thousands of shells over the prices of some competitors.

When Tesla entered the Israeli market four years ago, he was almost the only player in the sector and benefited from his position well. However, today, in the specified price sector (between 200,000 and 300,000 NIS), there are about 14 competitors, most of whom are Chinese, who were clearly targeting a bite of the Tesla share in the market. They all have models designed from the beginning to compete directly with Tesla Model 3 and/or Model Y.

This can be added to the Israeli public's openness to unknown Chinese brands that offer value, and additional ingredients reduced by China that they are dealing with in the entire electric vehicles sector.

This is a unique competitive position for Tesla in the world, with the exception of perhaps in China itself, where the company is currently losing its share in the market for dozens of aggressive competitors. In 2024, Tesla managed to maintain its position in Israel by lowering prices, but the market share will need more important steps.

Currently, there seem to be two factors who can get the sales of Tesla from the marketing recession in 2025 and allow them to increase its share in the market. The first is a significant reduction in deep prices, which makes prices closer to the level of its growing Chinese competitors. However, such decisions are not taken in Tesla Israel, but through global administration, and at the present time it does not seem to be Tesla all over the world in this direction. It is doubtful whether the small Israeli market that suffers from taxes will change the strategy.

Unrealized capabilities

The second factor could be the expansion of Israel in the fleet vehicle market, as its presence has been small so far. This is a huge potential market with nearly 80,000 purchases annually, which is far from fatigue when it comes to buying electric cars. Moreover, many of the company's auto recipients in Israel are employees of the technology company, who are “the essence” of Tesla agents all over the world.

But even in this field, Tesla insists on playing with its own rules and not compatible with local rules. For example, for example, the fact that leasing companies do not like, to place them moderately, importers who reduced prices and in this process “decrease” scrap values ​​for vehicles on their public budgets.

Tesla also refused to excavate to grant rental companies in Israel significant discounts from the official price list. In the past two years, it has operated the “Fleet Department”, which works independently of large companies, and has managed to reach the lists of selection of employee vehicles for many of them. But still, traditional rental companies are the main “gates guards” of many fleets in Israel. Will there be a breakthrough in this field in 2025? There are quite a few indicators of the technology industry that may actually happen.

It was published by Globes, Israel Business News – En.globles.co.il – on February 26, 2025.

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