BREAKING: Tesla Model 3 Deliveries In China Estimated For March 2019

November 5th, 2018 by Zachary Shahan

Our good friend and great source for all things Tesla in China, Mr. Vincent, has shared news that Tesla Model 3 delivery estimates for China have started rolling out.

The estimated month for initial deliveries is March 2019. (It’s possible some buyers are getting earlier delivery estimates, but we presume that’s not the case.) We presume that Model 3 deliveries will begin in Europe in March as well.

That’s actually all the news we have for now, but below the tweet is a summary of other recent news about Tesla in China.

In early August, Elon Musk indicated that Tesla would fund the Shanghai Gigafactory with local bank loans.

In early September, it was reported that Tesla had “increased the registered capital for its new Shanghai Gigafactory from 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) to 4.67 billion yuan ($681 million) to support new scope for the factory, including core automotive manufacturing operations and battery managements systems at the new factory.”

In early October, it was reported that Tesla was speeding up construction of the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory due to Trump’s trade war. It was also reported that Tesla had gone on a hiring spree related to that construction.

A few days later, it was reported that Tesla officially “acquired just under 1300 acres of land in the Shanghai Lingang Equipment Industrial Zone for its Gigafactory 3.” (Gigafactory 1 is the Nevada Gigafactory and Gigafactory 2 is Tesla’s solar factory in New York.)

At the end of October, it was reported that Tesla intends to produce both the Model 3 and the Model Y at its Shanghai Gigafactory.

Tesla confirmed many of the reports above in its Q3 2018 shareholder later, stating, “In order to significantly increase the affordability of Model 3, we have decided to accelerate our manufacturing timeline in China. We are aiming to bring portions of Model 3 production to China during 2019 and to progressively increase the level of localization through local sourcing and manufacturing. Production in China will be designated only for local customers.” Tesla also reported in the letter that demand from China had weakened due to the higher Trump-induced tariffs.

In a tweet on November 2, Elon Musk responded to Mr. Vincent’s question about Panasonic battery production at the Chinese Gigafactory with the following statement: “Tesla will manufacture all battery modules & packs at China Giga, as we do today in California & Nevada. Cell production will be sourced locally, most likely from several companies (incl Pana), in order to meet demand in a timely manner.” Tesla service locations will also expand in China next year.

That’s the short story about Tesla in China. We’ll report more news as we get it, and that will probably be via Mr. Vincent or tweets from Elon.









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