Tesla opened up the Tesla Model 3 vehicle configurator to a handful of new countries in the greater Asia Pacific region today as it began stretching its wings beyond its initial Asian beachhead in China.
As of today, customers in Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand are able to jump into the configurator for the first time to build their Model 3, ogle at the prices in their local currencies, and actually place orders.
Meanwhile, in China, Tesla cracked open the floodgates as it allowed customers to configure their very own Chinese-made Tesla Model 3 for the first time, as clear a sign as any that the company is ramping up operations at its Shanghai Gigafactory 3. The first production runs at the new factory are anticipated for later this year.
The new Chinese-made Model 3s will start at 328,000 RMB, or $47,475 at today’s exchange rate. The first of the Model 3s rolling off of the production lines at the Gigafactory 3 are expected to be 2019 model year vehicles and will have an NEDC-rated range of 460 kilometers (285 miles) per charge.
Now Tesla China officially announced Made in China 🇨🇳 ✨✨Model 3 SR Plus✨ ✨ has a cruising range of 460 km (NEDC estimate), starting at RMB 328,000 and expected delivery time is 6 to 10 months and officially open vehicle reservations!! $TSLA #Tesla #China #TeslaChina #Model3 pic.twitter.com/hp7KM2C3hM
— Vincent 🚀🟠 (@vincent13031925) May 31, 2019
Tesla China went onto the dominant social media platform in the region, Weibo, to announce when the first Model 3 order was placed of the Chinese-made Model 3 — it was made within 3 minutes of the new ordering portal going live. The company also commented that its site was experiencing extremely high volumes and asked users to be patient as the initial surge of orders came in.
From #Tesla China officially Weibo:
“The first order completed within 3 mins of the reservation opening. Due to extreme high demand of the Chinese-made Model 3 on the official website of Tesla, the traffic is too large, please be patient. Or plz visit stores”$TSLA #TeslaChina pic.twitter.com/cQnAPUycjX— Vincent 🚀🟠 (@vincent13031925) May 31, 2019
In the first quarter of 2019, in parallel, Tesla charged into a handful of western European countries and China with its Model 3, tossing its sanity and supply chain stability out the window. In-transit inventories shot through the roof while shipments into numerous countries were delayed by logistics issues of all shapes and sizes as Tesla worked to define new work processes, understand the challenges of bringing tens of thousands of fully-built vehicles into new regions, and iron out the delivery hell that followed.
Early signs from the second quarter indicate that Tesla has recovered from the mess that was the first quarter of 2019 and has established some semblance of stability in the second quarter. Being Tesla, they can’t seem to leave good enough alone and continue to push into new markets to work out even more kinks for even more customers around the world with the addition of these new countries.
Later this year, the company’s Gigafactory 3 will start up and we may even hear from the company about its plans to plant some manufacturing roots in Europe, with an announcement about the official location of Gigafactory 4 expected within the coming year.
If you are in the market for a Tesla, find someone locally that you know (like, in real life) and use their referral code. If you don’t know anyone with a Tesla, go find someone at your local Supercharger and try not to be a creep and ask them for their referral code (they won’t mind). If that doesn’t work, ask a co-worker or a distant relative, post on Facebook or Twitter, or just hit up Google. If all that fails and it’s an odd numbered day and not too sunny out, you can use my Tesla referral link to get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging, I guess. http://ts.la/kyle623
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