Tesla has begun deliveries of the updated Model 3 Performance in China, ahead of the third quarter expected when the model was unveiled in the country two months ago.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has begun deliveries of the updated Model 3 Performance in China, ahead of the third quarter expected when the model was unveiled in the country two months ago.

The US electric vehicle (EV) maker announced the start of Model 3 Performance deliveries in a post on its WeChat account today, highlighting the model's 3.1-second 0-100 kilometer-per-hour sprint and 261 km/h top speed.

Tesla began pre-sales of the new Model 3, or Model 3 Highland, in China on September 1, 2023, offering an entry-level rear-wheel drive version, and a long-range all-wheel drive version.

Both variants of the new Model 3 started formal sales in China on October 19, 2023, with deliveries beginning in late October.

On April 24 of this year, Tesla launched the updated Model 3 Performance in China and began pre-sales of the sedan's most powerful variant. Information on Tesla China's website at the time indicated that deliveries of the variant in China would begin in the third quarter.

On June 2, Tesla began official sales of the updated Model 3 Performance in China, starting at a price of RMB 335,900 ($46,290), the same as at the time of the pre-sale.

The other two variants of the Model 3 start at RMB 231,900 and RMB 271,900 in China. Delivery wait times for all three variants of the sedan are 1-6 weeks, according to Tesla China's website.

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

Tesla was offering the Model 3 in 2020 in three versions -- 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.

Starting in January 2021, the single-motor rear-wheel-drive Long Range version was dropped in China, and until the Model 3 Highland becomes available, the sedan was only offered in China in a single-motor rear-wheel-drive entry version and the more powerful Model 3 Performance.

The Model Y is also currently available in China in three variants -- an entry rear-wheel drive version, a long-range all-wheel drive version, and an all-wheel drive Performance version -- with starting prices of RMB 249,900, RMB 290,900, and RMB 354,900, respectively.

All three variants of the Model Y also have current delivery wait times of 1-6 weeks, according to the Tesla China website.

Tesla sold 55,215 vehicles in China in May, up 29.89 percent from 42,508 in the same month last year, and up 75.73 percent from 31,421 in April, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

In the January-May period, Tesla sold 219,056 vehicles in China, a decrease of 0.38 percent year-on-year.

($1 = RMB 7.2562)

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