Tesla’s China-Made Cars Won’t Be Much Cheaper Than Imported Ones

Tesla Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai.Photographer: VCG via Getty Images
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China’s Tesla Inc. fans expecting to get the new, locally built Model 3s on the cheap were just dealt a surprise.

Tesla said Friday its China-made vehicles will start at $50,000 in the country, only about 3% less than what the most basic imported models have been going for, after the U.S. company decided to include the Autopilot driver-assistance software in each vehicle. Variants without Autopilot will be phased out in China.