The Chinese man who reportedly spent upwards of $400,000 USD to buy the very first Tesla Model S in China will be hitting himself following the recent release of official pricing for the Model S in the booming Asian nation. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price starts at 734,000 yuan, which is the equivalent of $121,000 in the U.S.
While this price tag does seem cheap compared to what the first Chinese owner paid to have his car privately shipped in, it is significantly more than U.S. customers pay for the Tesla Model S. As a matter of fact, in the States, the Model S starts at $69,900. The majority of the extra Chinese consumers have to pay comes from the taxes and government rates the Chinese put on imported cars. For the Tesla Model S, these equate to $36,700.
Additionally, shipping costs for each unit translates to around $3,600 while the Chinese bound Model S comes fitted standard with a larger 85 kWh battery pack which retails for around $10,000 extra in the United States.
This news follows on from the recent confirmation that Tesla was granted the rights to sell its cars in China under the ‘Te Si La’ name. This is a name known by many Chinese consumers and Tesla was in a trademark dispute with another entity who had already trademarked the name.
[Via Autoblog]
