Formal sales of the updated Model 3 Performance in China is priced at the same RMB 335,900 ($46,380) as when pre-sales began at the end of April, but the delivery date has been moved up.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has begun formal sales of the updated Model 3 Performance in China, after listing the model on its China website and starting pre-sales in late April, and with an earlier delivery date than previously planned.

“Effective immediately, the Model 3 Performance will move from pre-sales to formal sales, with first deliveries expected to begin in mid-June,” Tesla said today on Weibo.

Tesla's Chinese website listed the updated Model 3 Performance on April 24, and it went on pre-sale at that time with a starting price of RMB 335,900 ($46,380). Its official sales price is the same as the pre-sale.

Local deliveries of the updated Model 3 Performance are expected to begin in the third quarter, according to information displayed on the US-based electric vehicle (EV) maker's Chinese website at the time.

Tesla's plans announced today mean that deliveries of the Model 3 sedan's most powerful variant in China are moved up.

Chinese customers who order the updated Model 3 Performance now can expect deliveries in 3-6 weeks. The wait times for the other two variants of the Model 3 are also both 3-6 weeks, as before, according to information monitored daily by CnEVPost.

The Model 3 is currently offered in China in an entry-level rear-wheel drive version, a long-range all-wheel drive version, and the Model 3 Performance, with the first two starting at RMB 231,900 and RMB 271,900, respectively.

Tesla's Shanghai factory began operations in late 2019 and started delivering locally produced Model 3s in January 2020 and locally produced Model Ys in January 2021.

Tesla was offering the Model 3 in 2020 in three variants -- an entry-level version with single-motor rear-wheel drive, a long-range version with single-motor rear-wheel drive, and a performance version with dual-motor all-wheel drive.

The single-motor, rear-wheel-drive long range version was canceled in China starting in January 2021, when only the single-motor, rear-wheel-drive entry version of the Model 3 and the more powerful Model 3 Performance remained.

On September 1, 2023, Tesla began pre-sales of the updated Model 3, or Model 3 Highland, in China, continuing to offer only two variants -- the entry-level rear-wheel drive version, and the long-range all-wheel drive version.

Sales of both variants of the new Model 3 officially begin in China on October 19, 2023, with deliveries starting at the end of October.

Last month, Tesla filed for the updated Model 3 Performance in China as part of meeting regulatory requirements.

The updated Model 3 Performance is capable of sprinting from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 3.1 seconds and has a top speed of 261 kilometers per hour, according to Tesla China's website.

The variant boasts a CLTC range of 623 kilometers. For comparison, the entry-level Model 3 has a CLTC range of 606 kilometers and the long-range version has 713 kilometers.

($1 = RMB 7.2418)

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