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October 24, 2015

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Home » Business » Auto

Tesla may make cars in China in 2 years

TESLA Motors Inc could begin producing cars in China in two years, Chief Executive Elon Musk said, adding that local production had the potential to slash the sales prices of its models in the world’s largest auto market by a third.

Tesla’s negotiations with officials on Chinese production have been quite encouraging and it is likely the company will cooperate with a local partner, Musk said, according to Chinese language transcripts of remarks provided by the company.

Foreign automakers generally have to form a joint venture with a Chinese firm to produce cars domestically.

Tesla has struggled with weak sales in China, leading to job cuts this year. Domestic media has put the headcount cut at 30 percent of its 600 staff.

The company, which does not regularly release China sales data, said in a release yesterday that it had sold 3,025 Model S cars in the country from January to September.

Musk also said Tesla is already working with Chinese Internet firm Baidu Inc on GPS navigation and automated driving.

He added that Tesla’s US$5 billion battery plant in Nevada, known as the “gigafactory” would produce its first batch of batteries next year.




 

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