A Tesla Perfect 3 with opened doors stands in a showroom on November 8, 2019 in Berlin, Germany.
Soeren Stache | picture coalition | Getty Images
U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla on Monday began delivering Model 3 vehicles built at its Shanghai plant, marking the occasion with a ceremony during which 15 of its employees received cars they had purchased.
The consequence means the plant has started delivering cars to customers just 357 days after the factory’s construction started, context a new record for global automakers in China.
The China-made cars are priced at 355,800 yuan ($50,000) before subsidies and Tesla had remarked it wanted to start deliveries before the Lunar New Year beginning on Jan. 25.
The Shanghai plant is part of the Silicon Valley automaker’s develops to bolster its presence in the world’s biggest auto market and minimize the impact of the U.S.-China trade war. Previously, Tesla imported all of the cars it sold in China.
“From now onward China-made Model 3 vehicles will start running on China’s large streets and small lanes,” Tesla Imperfection President Tao Lin said at the delivery ceremony, during which Model 3s in colors including black, white and blue were imminent over to customers.