Tesla Gigafactory 3’s first batch of Made-in-China Model 3 will be delivered on Monday, December 30. It will mark the official start of MIC Model 3 deliveries in China and officially christen GF3 as the main factory for Tesla production in the country.
According to Reuters, the first batch of deliveries will be to Tesla employees working at Gigafactory 3, so it is more of a ceremonial handover, if any. There will be 15 Model 3 deliveries on December 30.
⚠️Important Announcement⚠️
— Tesmanian.com (@Tesmanian_com) December 27, 2019
Tesla China 🇨🇳 Announces Made-in-China Model 3 Purchase Tax Exemption Approval and Imminent Deliveries $TSLA #Tesla #China #MIC #model3https://t.co/mXSALdHhuA
For those who have been following Tesla's progress since the early days of the automaker, they will recognize a similar initial delivery event when the company was finally ready to handover the first Model 3s produced in Fremont. Similar to the upcoming GF3 ceremony, the first deliveries in Fremont were also for employees.
Tesla delivered the first Model 3 from Fremont in July 2017. Similar to the deliveries in China, the all-electric car manufacturer released only a few cars to mark the occasion. Precisely 30 Model 3s were handed over to Tesla employees on that day.
Tesla China seems to be following suit with its first MIC Model 3 deliveries on December 30. The event is actually quite a pleasant surprise. When Tesla China initially hinted at a delivery date before the Chinese New Year, there were mixed reactions.
Some Tesla enthusiasts believed that the handovers for MIC Model 3s should start the Q1 2020, so the automaker welcomes the new year off strong. Meanwhile, others wanted MIC Model 3 deliveries to happen during Q4 2019 to ensure positive results this quarter.
— Vincent (@vincent13031925) December 27, 2019
A rise in Model 3 deliveries has been reported all over the world by Tesla enthusiasts who are keeping a close eye on the matter. The all-electric car maker seems to be going after the 360,000 target Elon Musk set for 2019 and maybe more than that. So starting MIC Model 3 deliveries in Q4 2019 could significantly help Tesla achieve Musk’s goal, or it may be a little bit overkill.
Tesla China seems to have found a good compromise between delivering during Q4 2019 and Q1 2020. By delivering 15 MIC Model 3s on December 30, 2019, Tesla China is still contributing to the company’s 2019 Q4 results in a small, symbolic way. However, by waiting until 2020 Q1 to mass deliver the locally-made electric sedan, Tesla China will lead the automaker into the new year and help keep its sales numbers strong.
About the Author
Claribelle Deveza
Longtime writer and news/book editor. Writing about Tesla allows me to contribute something good to the world, while doing something I love.
