Tesla begins delivering China-made Model 3s in January 2020, all versions without a power tailgate.

Starting in 2021, Model 3 and Model Y models built at Tesla's Shanghai plant come with a power tailgate, a feature envied by customers who purchased the car before then. Now, the company is offering a paid upgrade option.

Tesla announced today that it is offering an option to get the power tailgate for people who purchased a model without it for RMB 3,980 ($630).

Tesla offers a three-year warranty for the service, and users can control the tailgate from the center console.

Owners who want to get the power tailgate can contact their local Tesla service center directly, the company said.

Tesla started delivering China-made Model 3s in January 2020, all versions without power tailgates.

The locally built Model Y becomes available in China in January 2021, as well as the new Model 3, both of which come with power tailgates from the factory.

Tesla sold 59,845 China-made vehicles in January, up 286.5 percent year-on-year but down 15.5 percent from December, according to data released earlier this week by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

A total of 40,499 of these vehicles were exported, second only to the 40,666 vehicles exported in October of last year. The CPCA first published the export data in April 2021.

The CPCA's data shows that Model Y sales in China were 16,358 units in January, up 896.8 percent from 1,641 units in January last year.

That makes the Model Y the second best-selling new energy SUV in China in January, behind the BYD Song's 20,722 units, according to the CPCA's list.

Tesla's Model 3 did not appear on the list released by the CPCA, with 2,988 units of the model sold in China in January.