Tesla China Design Center to create International EVs was first unveiled by Tesla in 2020. Now The Wall Street Journal reports that the location for the Design Center will be the Capital of the country, Beijing. Details about the center are not provided, the information comes only from the government document showing Tesla Design Center going to be located in Beijing.
Tesla began hiring for the center in 2021, encouraging people with a passion for cars or design to apply. The details about the center were not out till the document details were revealed by the Wall Street Journal. Beijing released a list of key projects in the region on January 31st, which has flown under the radar until this morning. Other than Tesla’s Design Center, Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi Corp. will build a new electric vehicle plant in Beijing, capable of manufacturing 300,000 vehicles every year.
As Tesla has remained tight-lipped regarding the Design Studio, there is no information on what could potentially come out of the center development. Alongside, the automaker has discussed plans for a $25,000 vehicle and a “China-inspired” mass-market sedan to come out of the facility. However, there is no confirmation of which way Tesla is planning to go with its initial designs. As a company, Tesla will not release any new automotive products this year, CEO Elon Musk stated on the Q4 2021 Earnings Call.
China’s market
China has been one of Tesla’s strongest points in the past several years. After launching operations in early 2020 at Gigafactory Shanghai, Tesla has maintained a strong sales record. Also, the EV maker has even used the Chinese plant as an export hub to quench the thirst for European demand. Furthermore, it is planning to increase Model Y production at the plant considerably, documents from the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment revealed late last year. Gigafactory Shanghai was responsible for nearly 52 percent of Tesla’s total deliveries for 2021.
The advantages and disadvantages have not come without consequence. Recently, Tesla opened a showroom in the controversial Xinjiang region of China. It has caused outrage among some U.S. politicians. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a daily briefing with media that, “…the public and private sectors, cannot look the other way when it comes to what is taking place in Xinjiang. As we’ve said before, companies that fail to address forced labor in their supply chains and other human rights abuses face serious legal, reputational, and consumer risk, not only in the United States but in Europe and around the world.”
