Tesla China stole the show at the fifth China International Import Expo in Shanghai, China,
The Tesla display included the Model 3, Model Y and the soon-to-be-released Model S and Model X Plaid.
This was the debut of the Plaid models in China, but both are still pending regulatory approval according to Tesla’s Design Studio. As a result Tesla China has not yet released official pricing or expected delivery times.
Both Plaid models will be imported into China from Tesla’s Fremont factory, the only factory that produces the two flagship vehicles.
It is unclear if there are plans to build any of the Plaid models at Giga Shanghai, but it would make sense given the burgeoning EV market in China.
Grace Tao, Global Vice President of Tesla China, said this at the opening of the expo:
As the first wholly foreign-owned vehicle enterprise in China, we are honored to be one of the achievements of China’s reform and opening up. In the past nine years, Tesla has not only deeply invested in China, but also become an important part of China’s new energy vehicle industry, helping China’s automobile industry and economic globalization together with Chinese local enterprises. Nowadays, Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory drives the Chinese new energy vehicle industry to upgrade, and exports models to many countries and regions in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
In addition to the two new cars, Tesla showed off the Tesla Bot for the first time on Chinese soil to much acclaim.
The company showed off their second iteration of Optimus which is built with a number of in-house designed parts. Optimus was a static display, but at the unveiling at AI Day 2 it was unable to walk on its own and still needed help to get on stage, unlike the first iteration known as BumbleCee which walked onto the stage by itself and waved and danced to the crowd.
Tesla CN just released this video displaying Tesla products at China Import Expo. Love the vibe of the Tesla booth. pic.twitter.com/ptkOy2SG41
— Ray (@ray4tesla) November 7, 2022
