Tesla Suspends Model S, X Orders on Chinese Site

Image Credit: BBC

 

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) on Friday appeared to have suspended taking new orders for its imported Model S and Model X on its Chinese website. 

The option to immediately order either of the two models was unavailable on the Chinese website, a check by Investing.com showed, although the reason for their unavailability was not immediately clear. 

Both models are assembled in Tesla’s factories in Fremont, California, and Tilburg, Netherlands, and are exported to China. The Model Y and Model 3, which are manufactured in Tesla’s Shanghai factory, were still available for order on the Chinese website. 

The Model X is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV, while the Model S is Tesla’s flagship luxury performance sedan. The S is also Tesla’s longest-selling model. 

The suspended orders could be linked to the U.S. and China becoming embroiled in a bitter, renewed trade war. Both countries slapped steep tariffs on each other this week.

China is a major market and production hub for Tesla, but is becoming a point of contention for the EV maker in the face of a global trade war. 

CEO Elon Musk had recently said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on China- which were hiked to 145% this week- stood to “significantly” impact the EV maker. 

Tesla is also grappling with slowing sales in China, amid heightened competition from local players, specifically BYD (SZ:002594). 

Tesla did not immediately respond to a mailed request for comment. 

 

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author