In order to boost the slow demand of the electric vehicle market, Tesla announced price cuts in the mainland Chinese market on Friday, in which the starting price of the domestically produced Model 3 was reduced to 229,900 yuan (the same below), a reduction of more than 10%. This move immediately caused dissatisfaction among potential Tesla car owners in China, and rights protection rallies erupted in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu and other places.
According to Tesla’s official website in China, the starting price of Model 3 dropped from RMB 265,900 to RMB 229,900, a decline of 13.5%; the starting price of the Model Y dropped from RMB 288,900 to RMB 259,900, a decrease of 10%. , it means that the potential car owner who just bought a car will lose tens of thousands of yuan.
According to clips circulating on the Internet, a crowd at a Tesla store in Chengdu chanted, “Return the money, return our car.” The Cyberquad pure electric ATV car was also damaged.
And “Reuters” reported that about 200 new Model Y and Model 3 buyers gathered at the Shanghai delivery center to protest Tesla’s decision to cut prices for the second time in three months. One of the activists, surnamed Zhang, believes that “this may be normal business practice, but this is not how a responsible company should behave.”
Mr. Zhang said the police facilitated talks between Tesla employees and prospective car owners who participated in rights protection. During the meeting, the car owners presented a list of demands, including apologies and compensation, and Tesla has agreed to respond by Tuesday.
In addition, advocacy demonstrations erupted in Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Videos shot in Beijing showed police cars arriving at the Tesla store to disperse crowds gathered outside.
A spokesperson for Tesla China told Reuters on Saturday that the company did not intend to compensate buyers who ordered before the latest price cut. Tesla did not respond when asked about recent rights demonstrations.
According to 2021 data, the Chinese market accounts for about a third of Tesla’s global sales. Its Shanghai factory has about 20,000 employees and is the company’s most productive and profitable factory.
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