Tesla has ceased accepting orders for its Model X and Model S models on its Chinese website due to the ongoing escalation of the trade conflict between the U.S. and China.
The two models, which
Reuters reports
These models can no longer be ordered via the widely used mobile application WeChat; they are manufactured in the U.S. and then shipped to China. Although the company based in Texas hasn’t made any official statements about halting orders, this change coincides with Chinese consumers having access to domestically produced electric vehicles which avoid higher pricing due to tariffs or additional costs.
On Thursday, the White House stated that China encounters a 145% tariff rate on all imports into the U.S. Subsequently, on Friday, China revealed intentions to increase tariffs on American products.
From 84% to 125%
.
When discussing other vehicles in Tesla’s range, the Model 3 and Model Y are manufactured at their facility in Shanghai for either domestic sales or shipment to markets in Europe. It’s worth noting that Tesla’s Model 3 had earlier claimed the position of being the
most popular electric vehicle in China
The automotive company has consistently encountered rivalry from BYD. Recently, this Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer disclosed higher yearly earnings for 2024 compared to Tesla and unveiled a new model last month that comes at a lower price point than the Model 3.
Nevertheless, Tesla has reportedly maintained a cooperative relationship with the Chinese government since 2019, following the establishment of the Shanghai facility.
the first automobile manufacturing facility entirely owned by an international company
without a domestic partner. Following the Gigafactory, a substantial adjacent battery facility called the “Megapack factory” commenced operations in February. Tesla plans to launch a comparable manufacturing site near Houston in the near future, as
Waller County has granted a tax exemption to Tesla.
in March.
In the meantime, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has remained notably silent on publicly discussing tariffs, even as he has
signaled his desire for their removal
Those clues similarly follow data from the China Passenger Car Association revealing
Tesla delivered significantly lower numbers of locally produced electric vehicles in China during March.
, showing an 11.5 percent decrease from the previous year.