Hyperdrive

Musk’s Big China Play Comes as World’s Top Car Market Slows

  • Chinese penalties on U.S. imports raise prices of Tesla models
  • Local rivals gaining edge in largest electric vehicle market

A Tesla Model S at the Shanghai showroom.

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
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Tesla Inc.’s breakthrough deal to secure land for a Shanghai factory commits the electric-car maker to a multibillion-dollar investment just as the Chinese vehicle market falters.

The company secured more than 200 acres of land for its planned Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai with a 973 million yuan ($140 million) bid, according to a statement Wednesday. Acquiring the parcel keeps Tesla on track to spend several billion dollars on its first overseas plant in the world’s largest electric-vehicle market.