Tesla confirmed that they are now prepared to deliver its model 3 electric cars in China's market. The company said that their Chinese customers can now start configuring and purchasing Performance and Dual motor all-wheel-drive versions of the sedan that started on January 4. The company said that they will start their initial deliveries in March.
Tesla's production score on the fourth quarter did not show a promising result. Its market share, however, increased on Friday. The companies share increased by 5.8 percent, $17.33, to $317.69 based on Nasdaq trading on Friday. The shares, however, decreased by about 7 percent on January 2 following the release of its quarterly production and delivery results that were below the expected outcome. It continued dropping by $3.1 on the next day.
Tesla announced this week that they will implement across-the-board price cut of $2,000 on its Model 3, Model S, and Model X vehicles to cover the reduction in federal tax credits for purchasers. The company's tax credit decreased from $7,500 to $3,750 on January 1.
The newly released model is expected to be the lowest-cost model cars of the company. The cars are expected to be sold in the United States at around $35,000. However, due to import duties and tariffs, the Performance Model 3s will initially cost RMB 560,000 and the Dual Motor AWD car will be sold at its base price of RMB 499,000. The same cars will be sold for $62,000 and $51,000, respectively, before tax credits and state incentives.
The cars are currently manufactured in the companies Fremont, California plant as the company prepares to build a Gigafactory in China. The company announced on October that they have secured rights to 210 acres of land in Liangang, Shanghai to be the location of its first Chinese plant after a cooperation agreement was signed with China's Shanghai Lingang Area Development Administration in early 2018.
Yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk attended the groundbreaking of the company's first non-U.S. factory on Monday. Musk was accompanied by Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong during the program.
According to Musk, China is becoming the global leader in electric vehicle adoption and it is a market that is critical to Tesla's mission to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. The CEO assured on his Twitter posts before the event that he will produce more affordable versions of the company's Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for the Greater China region.
