Tesla says made-in-China Model 3 will be $10,000 cheaper

Tesla China has revealed pricing and specifications for the locally made, upgraded version of its base Model 3 electric sedan, adding the new made-in-China vehicle to its website on Friday morning and confirming a delivery schedule.

While it was expected that the made-in-China version of the Standard Range Plus (SRP) vehicle would be cheaper than its US version, it had been unclear by how much. It can now be confirmed there is a significant price difference, equating to $A10,000 cheaper.

As shown on Tesla’s Chinese Model 3 page, the US-made SRP Model 3 is ¥377,000 ($A79,000 at today’s rates), whereas the Chinese version in only ¥328,000 ($68,800 at today’s rates).

It has the same specs as the USA-made version – 460km range (NEDC cycle), top speed of 225km.hr and acceleration to 0-100km/hr in 5.6 seconds.

The updated order page with pricing was noted online by Chinese-based Tesla fan Vincent, who has reported previously on Tesla developments in China via Twitter.

However, as Vincent points out, for those wanting to take advantage of the cheaper pricing, there will be a long wait.

Production cannot start just yet because Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory 3 is still in the final stages of completion.

A recent flyover of the nearly finished Gigafactory, the land for which was bought just over half a year ago for a price tag of $5 billion, shows the EV maker’s first overseas EV general assembly plant looking all but finished, with some roof areas still to be completed.

A recent job seeker event in Lingang to staff the Shanghai Gigafactory also indicates that its opening date can’t be too far off.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the online configurator for the Model 3 went live on Friday afternoon – as we report here. The drive-away price for the lowest-cost version is around $71,000.

According to the configurator viewed by The Driven this afternoon, the upgraded version of the base Model 3 will have a starting price of $66,000 (before drive aways) and the Performance will start from $85,000 (before drive aways). Drive away prices vary from state to state because of the stamp duty and other taxes.