Tesla Model Y goes viral

Tesla Japan turned a spring photo shoot into a viral ad on April 12, when its cherry-blossom Model Y post drew more than 209,000 views within hours. (ibtimes.com.au) The company posted three images of a black Model Y under pink-and-white sakura trees at 1:35 p.m. local time with the caption “Model Y🌸.” The post had 2,291 likes and hundreds of replies by the time International Business Times Australia reported it. (ibtimes.com.au) The timing matched Japan’s hanami season, when cherry-blossom viewing peaks across the country. International Business Times Australia said Tokyo peaked in late March, with blooms still lingering into mid-April in other parts of Japan. (ibtimes.com.au) Tesla is pushing harder in Japan as it tries to grow beyond early electric-vehicle buyers. On April 3, Tesla’s Japan chief Richi Hashimoto said the company wants to expand to at least 60 stores and become Japan’s top imported car brand as early as 2027. (usnews.com) Hashimoto said Tesla sold just over 10,000 vehicles in Japan in 2025, and Reuters reported the company sold about half that volume again in the first quarter of 2026. Tesla now has 35 stores and 14 service centers in Japan, with plans to grow the service network to about 30 locations. (usnews.com) Japan is still one of the slowest major markets to adopt fully electric cars, with buyers favoring hybrids, Reuters reported. The International Energy Agency said its 2025 Global EV Outlook tracks electric-vehicle deployment, charging infrastructure and policy shifts as automakers chase growth in markets where adoption remains uneven. (usnews.com) (iea.org) Tesla is using the Model Y as its main family-car pitch in Japan. Tesla Japan’s website lists the Model Y as a five-seat midsize sport utility vehicle, and the company began taking orders this month for the six-seat Model Y L in Japan. (tesla.com) (usnews.com) The cherry-blossom post landed in the middle of that sales push: a familiar Japanese spring image wrapped around Tesla’s most important vehicle. For a company opening stores, adding service centers and selling a new Model Y variant, the pictures did more than collect likes. (ibtimes.com.au) (usnews.com)