has updated the promotional it announced last month, as the expiration date approaches.

(File photo shows a Tesla Model Y. Image credit: CnEVPost)

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has updated its final payment reduction policy for Model Y buyers in China and extended by one month a finance program that was set to expire at the end of this month.

The US electric vehicle (EV) maker announced today on Weibo that starting at 8 am Beijing time on December 24, Chinese customers who purchase an existing Model Y will receive a RMB 10,000 ($1,370) reduction on their final payment.

The offer applies to the two lowest-priced variants of the Model Y, including existing cars and show cars, according to details posted on a page of Tesla's Chinese website.

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It does not apply to customized cars, cars for test drives, or official second-had cars. Customers need to complete delivery of the vehicles within the order validity period.

Tesla did not mention an expiration date for the offer.

This is an update to an offer that was announced at the end of November, as it becomes unavailable with that policy set to expire at the end of this month.

The Model Y is available in China in an entry-level rear-wheel-drive version, a long-range all-wheel-drive version, and an all-wheel-drive performance option, with starting prices of RMB 249,900, RMB 290,900, and RMB 354,900, respectively.

On November 25, Tesla announced that Chinese customers who order the two lower-priced variants of the Model Y on or before December 31 can receive a RMB 10,000 reduction on their final payment.

The offer announced in November applied to customized vehicles, existing vehicles that have been produced, and show cars, and excludes vehicles used for test drives and official second-hand vehicles.

Under the older policy, customers would need to have their vehicles delivered by December 31 to qualify. And the fact that the end of the year is now just 1 week away means that it will be essentially impossible for customers buying customized vehicles to qualify for the offer.

The current expected delivery lead time for all three variants of the Model Y in China is 1-3 weeks, as it was previously.

Additionally, Tesla in China has further extended the 5-year 0 percent interest financing incentive that applies to the two lower-priced variants of each of the Model 3 and the Model Y until January 31.

The Model 3 is available in China in an entry-level rear-wheel-drive version, a long-range all-wheel-drive version, and an all-wheel-drive performance version, which are currently priced from RMB 231,900, RMB 271,900, and RMB 335,900, respectively. The expected delivery lead times for the sedan's customized cars are also 1-3 weeks.

For Chinese customers buying the two least expensive variants of the Model 3 and Model Y, they can take advantage of a 5-year 0 percent interest financing program when making a down payment of at least RMB 79,900, according to an update on Tesla China's website today.

Tesla initially launched the 5-year 0-interest financing incentive in China on April 3, the first time it had offered the program in the country.

Over the past few months, the EV maker would essentially announce a one-month extension of that incentive at the end of each month, calling it time-limited.

The last time Tesla announced an extension of its 5-year, 0 percent interest financing program was on November 25, when it extended the offer to December 31.

Today's offer update comes as Tesla is rumored to begin production of the facelifted Model Y at its Shanghai factory in January.

Local media outlet LatePost said in a December 18 story that Tesla's Shanghai factory would begin mass production of the facelifted Model Y next month.

Tesla China sold 78,856 vehicles in November, including 5,366 for export, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

It sold 73,490 vehicles in China in November, the highest month of the year, CnEVPost's calculations show. That's up 12.19 percent from 65,504 vehicles in the same month last year and 81.52 percent from 40,485 in October.

Tesla Giga Shanghai to start mass production of facelifted Model Y in Jan, report says

(Screenshots from the Tesla China website.)

($1 = RMB 7.2988)