Hyperdrive
Tesla Weighs Chinese Funding for $5 Billion Factory
- Partners would allow carmaker to share financial burden
- China plans have taken on more urgency with the trade war
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Tesla Inc., under fire from investors for burning through cash as it ramps up production, will look to China to at least partially fund the cost of building its first factory in the world’s fastest-growing auto market.
The electric-car pioneer is considering raising some of the $5 billion it intends to invest in the plant near Shanghai from local partners, according to a person familiar with the plans, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk secured a preliminary deal to build the factory last month, just days after China’s retaliation against President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes boosted the cost of exporting cars made in the U.S.