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Tesla Is 'In Talks' To Build a Factory In China (qz.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the local-markets dept.

Tesla confirmed yesterday that it is "in talks" with the municipal government of Shanghai to manufacture its vehicles in the country. Tesla said in a statement: "Tesla is working with the Shanghai Municipal Government to explore the possibility of establishing a manufacturing facility in the region to serve the Chinese market. As we've said before, we expect to more clearly define our plans for production in China by the end of the year. Tesla is deeply committed to the Chinese market, and we continue to evaluate potential manufacturing sites around the globe to serve the local markets. While we expect most of our production to remain in the U.S., we do need to establish local factories to ensure affordability for the markets they serve." Quartz reports: The announcement follows more than a year of speculation that the electric-vehicle maker would set up shop in China, and confirms that Tesla is altering its China strategy away from merely exporting vehicles in order to reach more Chinese consumers. Earlier this year, Musk made a stealth visit to China to visit Wang Yang, one of the nation's highest-ranking officials, to discuss Tesla's plans. Tesla has been selling vehicles in China since 2014, but to date, its share of the electric vehicle market remains marginal, at just 2% as of June 2016, according to trade blog CleanTechnica. There are several reasons for this, one of which is price. Tesla currently exports its vehicles to China, and the government places an import tax of 50% on Tesla cars. The sticker price for the most simple Model S in China is $104,972, compared to $69,500 in the US.

28 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Dear Tesla by Snotnose · · Score: 4, Informative

    Bad Idea. They will build a factory, steal your secrets, then build several more factories using your secrets.

    Honestly, after the last 20 years how can anyone think China won't steal your secrets and sell them on the cheap?

    1. Re:Dear Tesla by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Bad Idea. They will build a factory, steal your secrets

      What secrets? Tesla has already opened all their patents for anyone to use.

      Elon already has his billions. He is more interested in changing the world than in increasing his pile.

    2. Re:Dear Tesla by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      They will build a factory, steal your secrets, then build several more factories using your secrets.

      Maybe that's the point.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    3. Re:Dear Tesla by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Like they did with Apple?

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    4. Re:Dear Tesla by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 1

      Yes. Exactly like they did with Apple:

      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    5. Re:Dear Tesla by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

      Horseshoe ...

      From TFA via your link:

      The exception: BirdAbroad did think the products looked genuine

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    6. Re:Dear Tesla by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 1

      Tesla sees the writing on the wall, they need to export from China like Ford, Volvo, GM, etc. or else they will not be competitive.

      To reciprocate the Chinese policy, the US ought to be placing a 50% import tariff on those Fords, Volvos and GMs imported from China. Then manufacturers can be competitive manufacturing cars in the US.

    7. Re:Dear Tesla by Altanar · · Score: 2

      All of their patents are open, sure. That's not stopping them from having trade secrets that they haven't patented.

    8. Re:Dear Tesla by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Bad Idea. They will build a factory, steal your secrets, then build several more factories using your secrets.

      Honestly, after the last 20 years how can anyone think China won't steal your secrets and sell them on the cheap?

      Because there are few secrets left to steal? China does a lot of it's own R&D. Telsa may be a darling for green energy in the USA, but the worlds largest electric car manufacturer.... BYD in China who have been at it for as long as Tesla have and outsell Tesla. There's nothing magical about Tesla that you can't reverse engineering by buying a car and taking it apart.

      Building a factory there is quite low-risk compared to actual technology companies. Now if SpaceX were building a factory in China, then we'd have a different argument, not the least of which being export laws.

    9. Re:Dear Tesla by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It's that why no one buys iPhones any more, and the market has been saturated with cheaper knock offs? Silly Apple, building their phones in China.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re:Dear Tesla by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      It is the neuter of he (and him). You wouldn't put an apostrophe in his, would you?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    11. Re:Dear Tesla by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Maybe I would. You dont know my lif'e.

  2. Lots of Tesla's there by TheSync · · Score: 1

    I was surprised by the number of Teslas I saw on the Shanghai highways the last time I was there!

    1. Re:Lots of Tesla's there by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      China is adopting green energy quite rapidly, but it's not Teslas that's amazing in China. It's BYD. Those EVs are everywhere you look.

    2. Re:Lots of Tesla's there by haruchai · · Score: 1

      I'm happier to hear about increasing numbers of electric buses.
      I'd buy an affordable EV but a single EV bus probably emits less than a diesel bus + 10 cars combined.
      Well, perhaps not everywhere in China with their huge (but declining) coal-fired electricity generation.

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
  3. 50% import tax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Remember when the president said he was going to fix all our bad trade deals?

    1. Re:50% import tax by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      But this is bringing jobs back! Once all those Telsa's are made, everyone will want one so bad, they will be motivated to nnovate million dollar companies so they can afford an $80K vehicle. That's how some people say it works, so who am I to argue.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    2. Re:50% import tax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why does Teslas need an apostrophe, but not jobs or companies?

    3. Re:50% import tax by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      Because Teslas looks like a spanish bread name.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    4. Re:50% import tax by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      You do know that you don't need to be a millionaire to buy an $80,000 vehicle, right?

      More over, you know that Tesla is only a week or three away from launching the Model 3, which costs roughly half that, right?

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    5. Re:50% import tax by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      Have they announced the price of the Model 3? I know it is projected to cost $30K.

      And I didn't say you needed to make a million dollars, I said you need to be taking a salary from a million dollar company. A lot of people buy cars they can't really afford, which I'm sure is the case with many Tesla owners.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  4. Re:Dear Snotnose by Snotnose · · Score: 1

    Dear AC. The piles of money they pay you will be nothing compared to the lost profits due to China stealing your secrets.

    Elon would post under his name, hence you must be Chinese.

  5. Bound to happen... by XSportSeeker · · Score: 1

    It surprises me that it took this long.
    Not only about the huge market that will be there, with China now leading Paris Agreement, Tesla absolutely can't afford not being there for all it's other related or non-related projects. Battery technology, solar power stuff...

  6. Makes sense ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    ... because capitalism.

    Republics, democracies, autocracies, dictatorships -- all replaced by capitalism.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  7. Re: Dear Snotnose by Chas · · Score: 1

    What? Didn't you see Goldeneye?

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  8. Ecars are cheap in China... check out Ali by wolfheart111 · · Score: 1

    China SUV electric car with big space low price high quality US $6650.00 / Unit MOQ: 2 Units https://wholesaler.alibaba.com...

    --
    [($)]
    1. Re:Ecars are cheap in China... check out Ali by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      How can you not be more interested in YN-CART105 with smooth and elegant lines

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  9. Re: What an idiot... by dougdonovan · · Score: 1

    elon can afford the trump tax.