Tesla’s finally making a cheap car, and China is excited

Picture: Tesla’s higher-end Model S.

We’ve known that electric vehicle maker Tesla had plans to produce an affordable sedan – the Model 3 – for some time now. But given just how much previous Tesla models cost, nobody really knew what “affordable” meant to Elon Musk before Tesla told Bloomberg this week that the car would cost around US$35,000 before tax incentives, which could bring it as low as US$25,000 for many American buyers.

Thanks to China’s import duties and shipping costs, it’ll certainly cost more than that in the Middle Kingdom. But Tesla doesn’t jack up its prices like other foreign carmakers in China do, and China’s government does want to promote the adoption of electric vehicles. Tesla purchases aren’t subsidized in China yet, but by 2018 (the earliest the Model 3 is likely to reach China in large numbers), they certainly could be.

Nobody knows what the Model 3 will cost in China, but that hasn’t stopped China’s tech-watchers from getting giddy over the news of a low cost Tesla. A Sina Tech article about the price, for example, has already attracted hundreds of comments, and virtually all of them are positive (although many commenters are worried about how high the cost could rise when China’s import duties are added on).

“So cheap!” wrote a Liaoning-based commenter. “Buying a Tesla is no longer just a dream,” a Hebei commenter gushed. The Model 3 price is even apparently inspiring some life changes. “Damn, now I want to learn how to drive,” a Beijing reader wrote. “Tomorrow I’m going to go find a job,” resolved a Hubei reader.

The award for the cleverest comment, though, may go to the Beijing reader who wrote: “Step on the gas, Tesla! Wait, that’s not right. Charge up, Tesla!” (“Step on the gas” is a colloquial expression in Chinese that’s used to cheer something or someone on, so “Step on the gas, Tesla!” in Chinese has the same meaning as “Go Tesla!” in English).

Of course, even a low-cost Tesla is going to face stiff competition from Chinese firms. In addition to established domestic electric vehicle producers like BYD, by 2017 or 2018 some of China’s big internet firms – virtually all of which are involved in smart or electric car projects – will likely have products for Tesla to compete with as well.