According to Elon Musk, Tesla could start manufacturing cars in China, and the company is negotiating the idea with the Chinese government. He said that domestic production (in China) could help them reduce vehicle prices by a third. This makes sense, as the cost of labour is very low in China, and China’s car market is huge.
Image obtained with thanks from Kyle Simourd via Flickr.
In February, I wrote an op-ed about Tesla’s rough entry into the Chinese car market. Their sales fell short of what they anticipated, and were concerned that they might not even be able to move forward in that market. However, they have sold 3,025 Model S cars in China between January and September.
Tesla is also working with Baidu Inc. (a Chinese Internet company) on GPS navigation and autonomous driving.