Tesla has reduced the price of the Model 3 Standard Range in China, as the price of the same vehicle produced in the US has been going up.
Since the beginning of the year, Tesla has been increasing the price of its electric vehicles in the US. In China, where Tesla now sells vehicles produced locally, the prices have been more stable.
But today, the automaker announced a price change in China, and it’s trending differently than in the US.
Tesla China announced that the price of the Model 3 Standard Range is going down by 15,000 yuan or the equivalent of $2,323 USD.
The cheapest Tesla vehicle in China now sells for 235,900 yuan ($36,500):
That’s less than the $39,990 starting price of the base Model 3 in the US.
In China, where Tesla still has a press relations team, the automaker communicated to the media that the price decrease was due to “cost fluctuations.”
It would imply that Tesla’s costs in China have improved despite CEO Elon Musk’s warning that Gigafactory Shanghai is facing some supply chain issues during Tesla’s earnings call earlier this year.
The move also follows Tesla’s mysterious move to remove the Model 3 Long Range from its Chinese online configurator last month.
Tesla still hasn’t brought back the popular version of its electric sedan to the market.
The Chinese market has become increasingly important for Tesla, especially since launching the Model Y produced at Gigafactory Shanghai.
Electrek’s Take
There have been rumors that some bad press in China has led to reduced new orders, which could have led to this price decrease, but that would be speculation at this point.
I’m more concerned about taking away the Model 3 Long Range.
Again, Elon Musk did say that Tesla was still experiencing supply chain issues, so it might have decided to stop taking orders for it in favor of other models, especially the Model Y.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.
Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
