Prices of Tesla vehicles sold in China have increased by over $20,000 thanks to the ongoing trade war between the United States and China.
The Wall Street Journal reports that prices on Tesla’s website jumped by almost 20 per cent over the weekend, shortly after the two countries imposed tariffs on $34 billion of each other’s goods. This has made U.S.-built Tesla vehicles significantly more expensive in China.
The Tesla Model X is now priced at the equivalent of $140,100, much more than the $117,100 it was sold for previously. The Tesla Model S now demands $128,400, approximately $21,000 more than it cost last week.
The Model S and Model X were already very expensive in China.
In response to the 25 per cent tariff the U.S. implemented on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports, the Asian superpower bumped its tariff on electric cars from 15 per cent to 40 per cent.
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk will meet with Chinese officialsBeijingnghai and Baijing this week.
If the tariffs remain in effect for the long-term, Tesla may be encouraged to accelerate its plans to make a production facility in China to dramatically reduce the costs of its vehicles. Last year, Musk said that the electric automaker has a rough target of starting production in China within the next three years. By Musk’s initial plans, a Chinese plant would serve the local market as well as some of the surrounding region.
Tesla’s Chinese factory will primarily focus on building the Model 3 and upcoming Model Y crossover but would also build examples of the Model S and Model X.