Tesla gifts employees with first China produced Model 3s
It’s a very good time to be a Tesla employee. The electric car maker gifted 15 of its employees with Model 3s, during a ceremony at its Shanghai factory on Monday.
Tesla broke ground on its Shanghai factory just under a year ago, and these are the first cars being manufactured.
General manager for Tesla China, Wang Hao, said more cars will be delivered to workers over the next couple of days before other customers begin receiving them next month.
“This is a happy gathering,” the company wrote on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. “The delivery of China-made Model 3s to our beloved workers is to reward everyone’s hard work this year,”
A Shanghai-built Model 3 has a starting price of 355,800 yuan (US $51,000). This is about 2% cheaper than an imported model. Buyers of the locally made cars can also take advantage of government subsidies of nearly 25,000 yuan (US $3,578). They are also exempt from a car purchase tax, according to the company.