As promised, the very first Tesla Model 3s built at the company’s Shanghai factory were delivered on December 30.
The New York Times reports that each of the 15 Model 3s delivered went to Tesla employees at the site. Remarkably, one of these employees took the opportunity to propose to his girlfriend during the delivery ceremony.
By delivering the first cars on December 30, Tesla managed to go from breaking ground at the site to starting production in just 357 days.
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The Model 3s built at the Shanghai site start at 355,800 yuan ($50,924), significantly less than the 439,000 yuan ($62,832) for longer-range models that are imported from the U.S.
“From now onwards China-made Model 3 vehicles will start running on China’s large streets and small lanes,” Tesla vice president Tao Lin said at the delivery ceremony attended by company employees and Shanghai government officials.
Production at the site will ramp up in January with an immediate target of hitting 250,000 vehicles annually. The facility is the first wholly foreign-owned car factory in China and has received a lot of support from the Chinese government.
Senior executives from Tesla recently confirmed the company is building service centers and charging stations across the nation to support the introduction of more vehicles. In 2020, the number of service centers and fast-charging stations will more than double and its after-sales workforce will jump from the current 600 to roughly 1,500.
