The vehicles are supposed to be produced at Tesla's Fremont plant in the US and will probably be used for testing and validation in China, according to a prominent auto blogger.
After a Chinese customer's Model S Plaid order was updated late last month, the latest signs now appear to indicate that Tesla is accelerating preparations to bring its higher-priced models to China, though perhaps not for local production.
The refreshed Model S and Model X vehicles were spotted at Tesla's Giga Shanghai, with protective shipping stickers on the bodywork indicating that the vehicles should still be produced at the Fremont plant in the US, according to Weibo car blogger @常岩CY.
The vehicles will likely be used for testing and validation, the blogger, who has 1.14 million followers on Weibo, said.
Tesla currently produces the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles at Giga Shanghai, and they are among the best-selling electric vehicles in China.
Tesla's Chinese website allows users to reserve the Model S and Model X, but their status are "pending regulatory approval" and the site does not show expected delivery dates.
On February 21, a message shared by Weibo user @ YFY含笑 showed that he received an email from Tesla saying his Model S Plaid reservation order had been updated.
"To move forward with the delivery process, please visit your Tesla account," the email message shared by the user showed.
Tesla announced the Model S Plaid in September 2020 in the US. In early June 2021, Tesla began deliveries of the model in the US and eliminated the more powerful Plaid + model.
In late November last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in response to @JayinShanghai, a Twitter user who closely follows the company, that the Model S Plaid could be coming to China around March 2022.
At the time, Tesla's China website showed the Model S Plaid priced at RMB 1,059,990 ($167,220), with an expected delivery date in China of late 2022, though this is subject to regulatory approval.
The Model S and Model X prices and expected delivery dates are no longer displayed on Tesla's China website, and users will need to pay RMB 20,000 if they want to reserve one.
Tesla sold 5,6515 China-made vehicles in February, including 33,315 vehicles exported and 23,200 delivered in China, data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) earlier this month showed.
Model Y sales in China were 18,593 in February, up 301.6 percent from 4,630 a year earlier and up 13.6 percent from 16,358 in January, the data showed.
That made the Model Y the best-selling premium SUV in China in February, about twice as many as competing models from Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.
The China-made Tesla vehicles are so popular that local consumers are waiting longer and longer for deliveries.
On March 4, Tesla's Chinese website updated the expected delivery dates for some Model 3 and Model Y versions, most of which have been extended by four weeks to 16-20 weeks. This means that Chinese consumers who reserve these two models now will not receive delivery until the end of June at the earliest.
On March 10, information on Tesla's official website in China showed that one version of the Model 3, as well as both versions of the Model Y, saw prices raised by RMB 10,000.
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