Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) recently publicized decision to offer the Model S sedan in China for around the same price as the equivalent American model — with the added taxes and transport fees — may lead to great things in the world's largest car market, and CEO Elon Musk is naturally quite upbeat about the car's prospects there.
After China's abundant added tax for imported vehicles, and the $3,600 transportation fee, Tesla's 85 kWh — the more potent of the two battery pack options — Model S will sell in China for about $121,000, or 734,000 yuan. While it seems like a lot, Tesla notes that it could have charged much more, but it was taking a risk to make the Tesla as affordable as possible in a country that hasn't historically been very welcoming of electric vehicles.
Provided that Tesla's entry into China goes over rather smoothly, Musk believes that Model S shipments to China can match U.S. sales by 2015. "It's not my firm prediction — it's more like a low-fidelity guess," he said, hedging his statement. Still, Musk has proven that betting against his "guesses" and statements can be costly.
Tesla moved over 21,000 Model S vehicles for 2013, the majority of which were in the U.S., with a handful making their way to Europe. For the fourth-quarter of last year, Tesla's sales came in at about 20 percent more than the company guided for. Bloomberg reports that had Tesla followed the industry blueprints for selling its vehicles, it could have charged more than $160,000 for the car. Then again, Tesla is not one to do things the conventional way.