After Elon Musk confirmed in September plans to launch a "baby-Tesla" (the $25,000 or €20,000 Tesla) between 2024 and 2025, it was Tesla China President Tom Zhu's turn to confirm the model.
This confirmation comes after in January it was reported in China that the «baby-Tesla» could reach the market much sooner, as early as 2022, with the first prototypes starting to be tested later this year.
Now, in an interview with Xinhua Net (owned by the Chinese government), Tom Zhu not only confirmed the new model but also discussed the construction of the brand's first research and development center in China (and the first outside the US).
from China to the world
According to Tom Zhu, the «baby-Tesla» will be designed, developed and produced at the Gigafactory in Shanghai. The beginning of commercialization would be in the Chinese market, being exported, later, to more markets around the world.
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Tesla's goal is to have a model in the successful segment of small electric models in China and, at the same time, to offer a competitor in different global markets for models such as the Volkswagen ID.3 or the soon-to-be-unveiled IONIQ 5 .
As for the price, despite nothing being made official, the target seems to be even at 25 thousand dollars (just over 20 thousand euros), something that helps to justify the decision to produce the «baby-Tesla» in China, where the costs of production will be smaller.