First Tesla Model 3 Cars Rolling Out in China

From Car and Driver

• Photos posted on Twitter show us the first Tesla Model 3 cars built in China, the world's largest market for EVs.

• The cars are being built at Tesla's brand-new Gigafactory 3, located outside Shanghai.

• The U.S. company plans to build at least 3000 Model 3 electric vehicles at the plant each week.

Tesla's Gigafactory 3 in China broke ground in January, and now the first Model 3 sedans have rolled off the line. The EV maker plans to build 3000 Model 3 electric vehicles a week at the factory.

Gigafactory 3 is China's first fully foreign-owned car factory, and it's also Tesla's first fully functioning factory outside the United States. It's only producing cars in small quantities for now, but Tesla has been clear about the factory's intended high output.

From these photos posted via Twitter, we can see that the first cars built in China are finished in blue paint and sport Tesla badges written in Chinese characters. The China-market Model 3s also have two plug-in ports, compared to the one that our U.S.-spec Model 3 has. We suspect that this is to comply with Chinese charging standards and stations. Speaking of charging stations, according to Bloomberg, China far outpaces the United States and has eight public chargers for every one in the U.S.

Tesla chairman Robyn Denholm said that the company is still working with local officials to gain manufacturing certification so the company can reach its production goal. It's saving money by building in China, though. The factory cost the company about $2 billion, but having it in China will help the electric-car manufacturer avoid import tariffs.

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