Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated the company is going to design a future car in China for the worldwide market.
The electric automaker CEO said Tesla would start a design and engineering center in China. He did not mention any timelines.
Tesla also verified that it would start operation on a production program for its Model Y crossover vehicle in its Shanghai Gigafactory, the sole production factory outside of the U.S. Production for its Model 3 — a sedan that was discussed before the Model Y back in 2016 — only started in October in the factor in Shanghai.
Musk made the announcements as he made the deliveries of the first Model 3 cars out of the Shanghai factory to the public.
“We intend to continue making a major investment and increasing the investment in China, making the Model 3 and the Model Y and future models also in China,” Musk informed the audience in Shanghai.
“Something that would be super cool … So we’re going to do it … is to try to create a China design and engineering center to really design an original car in China for worldwide consumption. I think this will be very exciting,” Musk added.
China is observed by analysts as a crucial market for Tesla but it continues to face challenges from cooling electric vehicle sales to rising competition.
Still, the company has produced positive results with a profitable third quarter of the last year and fourth-quarter vehicle delivery figures that topped Wall Street estimates. Shares of the company hit a record high of $454 last week.
