Local production could help Musk build on recent momentum for the company in the country, which is also the world’s largest market for normal gas guzzlers. Tesla is storming into China with prices that aren’t much higher than those local manufacturers such as NIO Inc. and Xpeng Motors, while undercutting global giants such as BMW AG and Daimler AG.
(Jan 7): Tesla Inc kicked off production in China, marking a major step in Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s global push for electric-vehicle domination and heralding what could be the dawn of real competition in the world’s largest EV market.
Musk presided over a ceremony on Tuesday at a new multibillion-dollar plant near Shanghai — its first outside the US — where the American company handed over the first China-made Model 3 sedans to the public, the first one being a white sedan going to a man from the nearby city of Wuxi. Technically, deliveries began last week but those were to employees.
