Elon Musk recently talked with Tsinghua University in China about local production of its mass-market Model 3 in two years, but according to Reuters, Tesla has since come out to clarify the original transcript captured by Chinese media company Sina.
Tesla has issued a written release stating that the automaker has the potential to cut the sale price of its vehicles if they were to produce them in China. Foreign automakers are typically required to partner with local businesses if they’re to produce cars within the country.
Although Tesla has not shied away from the topic of soft sales in China, there’s been no word on the actual number of units sold within the country until recently. In a release on Friday, Tesla announced that it had sold 3,025 of its flagship Model S sedan in China.
According to Reuters, Musk is in process of working with Chinese search giant Baidu on GPS navigation and automated driving, but there’s still no word from Tesla on whether there will be Model 3 production in China.
Update 10/25/2015: Elon Musk confirmed Tesla’s position on producing cars and batteries in CA and NV.
Model 3 is due in ~2 yrs. A China factory for local demand cd be as soon as a year after. A factory in Europe wd happen for same reason.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2015
