Tesla Model 3 available for cheaper in China as pre-orders open
Following the launch of a Chinese car factory to tackle import tariffs, the company is selling its cars at a 13% discount.
Friday 31 May 2019 12:17, UK
Tesla has opened pre-orders in China for its Model 3 cars, which are being sold at a 13% discount for Chinese consumers.
The domestically-produced cars are cheaper than the models being imported from the US, and Tesla stated it expects to begin deliveries within the next 10 months.
Elon Musk attended the ground-breaking ceremony opening Tesla's $2bn (£1.6bn) factory in Shanghai back in January.
The electric carmaker is basing its operations in what it is calling Gigafactory 3, a facility in Shanghai which will be China's first wholly foreign-owned car plant.
It is intended to allow Tesla to minimise the impact of the trade war which has seen Beijing impose big tariffs on US car imports.
Tesla's factory in China - the world's biggest car market - is its first outside the US. With it being located in the world's largest market for cars, Tesla will be hoping the facility can reverse the company's fortunes.
Back in January, the firm announced it planned thousands of jobs cuts after the "most challenging" year in the electric carmaker's history.
Last June the company eliminated 4,100 jobs as it struggled to reach production targets amid quality control issues.
The company's vehicles in the country drew a lot of attention in April when a video on social media appeared to show one of its cars exploding in a Shanghai car park.
Tesla said it was urgently investigating the matter. It has not yet reported on the findings of that investigation.