Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) began making deliveries of Model Y vehicles to China on Monday.
What happened: The company led by Elon Musk posted pictures of customers delivering the midsize electric SUV in their Twitter feed.
欢迎! Model Y deliveries in China officially started pic.twitter.com/fG5aax1k2b
– Tesla (@Tesla) January 18, 2021
Initial deliveries in Shanghai will be followed by other cities, according to Tesla, said Xinhua – a Chinese government news agency.
Why it matters: Model Y went on sale in China in early 2021 and won enough orders to run out of supplies in the first three months of 2021, according to Electrek.
See too: Bulk quantity of Tesla Model Y vehicles sighted at Shanghai Gigafactory, which appear ready for delivery
At a price of RMB 339,900 ($ 52,376) in China, analysts expect the SUV to boost Chinese Tesla sales and emerge as a disruptive in the East Asian automotive market this year.
The vehicle price is less than a tenth of similar gas-powered luxury cars made by companies like Daimler AG (OTC: DDAIF), Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (OTC: BMWYY) and Volkswagen AG (OTC: VWAGY), according to Reuters.
The vehicle will also threaten the growing dominance of domestic electric vehicle companies, such as Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV), BYD Company Ltd (OTC: BYDDF), and Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ: LI).
Price action: Tesla shares closed nearly 2.2% lower at $ 826.16 on Friday and fell nearly 0.3% in the after-hours session.
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