Tesla will begin first deliveries of Model 3 cars produced at its new Shanghai factory on December 30.
A company spokesman confirmed the news to Reuters, adding that the first 15 customers to get the cars on December 30 will be Tesla employees.
Tesla begun construction of its Shanghai Gigafactory in January, making it the company’s first plant outside the United States and China’s first wholly foreign-owned car factory.
Related: Tesla Valued More Than Twice As Much As Ford And 44 Percent More Than GM
Delivering the first cars on December 30 also means that it took Tesla just 357 days to complete construction and start production, a new record for global car makers in China.
Tesla’s new Shanghai-based factory aims to build 250,000 vehicles on a yearly basis once the Model Y starts production there following the current initial phase. Model 3 cars built there are priced from 355,800 yuan (around $50,000) before any government subsidies.
Apart from the new factory, Tesla is currently building a network of service centers across China to ensure customers on their after-sales treatment. The Palo Alto-based EV maker already treats China as its most important market, where 1.3 million New-Energy vehicles were sold last year.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has also added the China-made Tesla Model 3 on its official list with new vehicles that are exempt from purchase tax. Tesla wants to cut prices of its locally-produced Model 3 by 20 percent, which will probably take place from the second half of 2020.
Tesla currently sees its share prices soar, reaching a market cap value of over $75 billion, and making them one of the best-performing auto stocks of the outgoing decade.
