Tesla is set to hand over $200 million to buy a plot of land for a new $5 billion factory producing half a million Teslas a year.
The land just outside Shanghai, China, would be the base for Tesla’s first overseas operation and would lead it to get around 40 percent Chinese tariffs currently placed on cars made in the U.S.
The new factory would also likely be the birthplace for all Australian Teslas once it is up and running with costs and delivery times reduced to lower operating costs and the plant’s relative closeness to the company's shores.
The move could also have a positive flow-on effect for Australian car buyers, with cheaper Teslas available and in far greater numbers than currently.