Elon Musk has given an insight into the possibility of Tesla’s luxury car brand, the Model S Plaid, to launch in China by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
The Chief Executive Officer of the electric automaker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) Elon Musk made this revelation while responding to a user’s Twitter request demanding to know when the high-performance EV will be launched in the Asian country.
The Twitter conversation started when Musk, in his characteristic manner, shared a tweet in which he tagged the Model S Plaid as “sickkkk!!!!” The tweet generated numerous reactions in which the company’s product fans around the world started demanding to know when a model of the company’s vehicle products or the other will be launching in their region.
Probably around March
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2021
The Tesla Model S Plaid was launched in June this year. As reported by Coinspeaker at the time, Elon Musk revealed in a delivery event at Tesla’s factory in California, Musk said that “this car crushes,” referring that it was the best in every way possible. Showcasing the vehicle’s superiority, Musk said the Model S Plaid is “faster than any Porsche, safer than any Volvo.”
While the vehicle has lived up to its potentials, it has also been at the helm of a well-publicized mishap when one of the cars caught fire while the driver was at the wheels back in July. With defects spotted in the car’s battery pack, Musk revealed the deliveries of the cars will be delayed until a better battery from a more advanced technology was developed.
The likelihood of launching the car in China, which to date has ranked as the largest EV market in the world has sent Tesla shares up by 2.46% in the pre-market, solidifying the 3.71% bullish close on Friday. Each Tesla share was trading at $1,167.25 at the time of writing.
Tesla Model S Plaid: Fighting Growing Competition in The EV Market
The potential launch of Tesla Model S Plaid in China is billed to face stiff competition from the local EV market. The Asian country courts a number of innovative Electric Vehicle startups including Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), and Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV) amongst others.
While Tesla’s products may come off with more advanced features as the Model S Plaid has a 520-mile range and it can reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour (320 kilometers per hour), its price ($129,990) may give it away for consumers who may embrace local options that are generally cheaper.
In the United States, Tesla’s competition is also growing as one of the emerging players in the space, Fisker Inc (NYSE: FSR) unveiled its electric SUV, Fisker Ocean. The vehicle is billed to hit the market by the tail end of next year, and it starts at $37,499. Despite this cheap price, it is not compromising on performance as the ride with the lowest pricing has a 350-mile range.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is also looking to fast-track the development of its EVs, all geared to place a unique strain on the dominance of Tesla in today’s EV market.
next