Tesla Model 3 Performance With China Badges Seen Leaving Giga Shanghai On Car Carriers

Tesla Model 3 Performance vehicles were seen leaving Giga Shanghai on car carriers. Most—if not all—car carriers leaving Tesla China’s Gigafactory 3 drop cars off at delivery centers.

When Phase 1 of Giga Shanghai officially started full operations, it has been concentrating on producing the Made-in-China Model 3 Standard Range Plus. The pictures, which were shared by Tesla enthusiast JayinShanghai, depict trucks filled with Tesla’s top-tier Model 3 Performance leaving Gigafactory Shanghai.

Tesla’s Shanghai facility was not expected to manufacture the Model 3 Performance. Last month, Tesmanian reported that the MIC Model 3 Long Range RWD was listed and registered on the official website for the China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The listing hinted that Giga Shanghai would soon start producing a locally-made MIC Model 3 Long Range variant.

BREAKING: MIC Tesla Model 3 Performance spotted on a vehicle transporter straight from Giga Shanghai. That’s right PERFORMANCE this is an unannounced model in China 🇨🇳 Thank you to one of my followers sharing this with us.#Tesla #TeslaChina #MIC #Model3P #特斯拉 #中国 $TSLA pic.twitter.com/DFrWghZ8Jo

— Jay in Shanghai 🇨🇳 (@JayinShanghai) March 6, 2020

However, none have been spotted in Gigafactory 3’s parking lot yet. There has been no sighting of a Model 3 Long Range with China badges leaving Giga Shanghai on car carriers either.

As of this writing, Tesla does not appear to have registered its Model 3 Performance variant in China’s MIIT listings. The MIC Model 3 Standard Range Plus had to go through several certifications before Giga Shanghai could start producing it. Tesla’s Long Range variant for its affordable SUV seems to be going through the same process as the Standard Range Plus.

So it is highly unlikely that Giga Shanghai produced Tesla Model 3 Performance variants and started shipping them already. The more probable scenario is that the Performance vehicles in the pictures received China badges in Gigafactory Shanghai before being sent to delivery centers across the country.

Breaking: Tesla Model 3 Long Range To Be Produced In Giga Shanghai https://t.co/GV3IwY4HES pic.twitter.com/Rgci3zMJQE

— Tesmanian.com (@Tesmanian_com) February 12, 2020

Now that Tesla China has an actual local factory to work from, it makes sense that the vehicles from Fremont are received at Giga Shanghai. Tesla’s facility in China is strategically placed near a harbor that could receive international shipments.

Plus, the China badge has become quite popular amongst Tesla customers in the country. So it makes sense that the EV automaker is placing the China badge on all its vehicles in the country.

Featured Image Credit: JayinShanghai/Twitter