An owner tries the touch screen in her new car. |
Tesla Motors delivered their Model S electric vehicles to a number of Chinese customers in Shanghai on April 23. At the ceremony, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla, was there to hand out keys to some Chinese owner representatives.
In addition to long range and excellent control, Tesla is also praised for its direct sales mode and free charge service. It has recently set up two charging stations - “Super Charge” - in Shanghai, one of them in the Jiading district, and the other in the Jinqiao Export Processing Zone of Pudong district, a national-level economic and technological development zone.
The high price of a Tesla car, nearly 1 million yuan ($159,900), still keeps it affordable for only a few people. The safety and service life of its batteries, as well as its quality after mass production, all need to be further tested.
Super Charge |
A charging facility is an important factor in e-vehicle development. Tesla promised its US customers that it would set up “Super Charge” in any areas where car owners live. With “Super Charge”, drivers can charge their cars with 80 percent of full power in just half an hour. But whether the promise will work in China is still unknown.
Edited by Lin Hong and Brian Salter