Tesla received the necessary approvals to start producing cars in China. The electric car maker, run by billionaire Elon Musk, is building a $2 billion (£1.5 billion) factory in the eastern city of Shanghai.
Tesla plans to build at least 1,000 of its Model 3s at its Chinese factory each week. The new factory will give Tesla access to China, the world’s largest auto market. It will also help the company avoid higher import duties imposed on cars made in the USA.
The new factory, known as Gigafactory 3, is the first entirely foreign-made automobile factory in China. The permit to build the plant appears to be a sign that Beijing is looking to open up the auto market.
No more taxes
Officials in Shanghai offered Tesla some help to speed up the plant’s construction. Meanwhile, China has excluded Tesla vehicles from a 10% tax on vehicles. Stating that he broke ground at the factory site in January, Musk said the facility will make “affordable versions” of the automaker’s mass-market vehicle, the Tesla Model 3, and the Model Y proposed for the China Metropolitan area.
“Aiming to finish the first construction this summer, Model 3 production will reach the end of the year and high-volume production next year,” the entrepreneur said. ELon Musk, who went to China and visited the new factory in August, had a discussion with Alibaba founder Jack Ma at the artificial intelligence conference during a visit to China.
