A 2018 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle is shown in this photo illustration taken in Cardiff, California, U.S., June 1, 2018. Picture taken June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake
BEIJING (Reuters) – Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Friday it plans to start delivering Model 3 cars to customers in China in March, cementing a time frame that the U.S. electric vehicle maker’s chief executive, Elon Musk, tweeted about late last year.
The California-based firm, which aims to accelerate Chinese sales that have been hit hard by the impact of trade tension between Washington and Beijing, said in a statement the starting price for a Model 3 in China would be 499,000 yuan ($72,000).
Tesla cut prices for its Model 3 last month, the third time in the last two months for the firm to adjust prices in China.
In November, Tesla cut the prices of its Model X and Model S in China by 12 to 26 percent.
Reporting by Yilei Sun in BEIJING and Adam Jourdan in SHANGHAI; Editing by Christopher Cushing