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Local production has the potential to slash the sales prices of
its models by a third, he said, according to the automaker's
written releases on Musk's remarks on Thursday and Friday in
Beijing.
Foreign automakers are generally required to establish a joint
venture with a Chinese company to produce cars domestically.
The California-based automaker has struggled with weak sales in
China, leading to job cuts this year. Domestic media has put the
headcount reduction at 30 percent of its 600 staff.
The company, which does not regularly release China sales data,
said in a release on Friday that it had sold 3,025 Model S cars
in the country from January to September.
Musk also said Tesla is already working with Chinese Internet
company Baidu Inc on GPS navigation and automated driving.
He added that Tesla's giant $5 billion battery plant in Nevada,
known as the "gigafactory" would produce its first batch of
batteries next year, estimating that the plant would reach full
capacity in two to three years.
(Reporting by Jake Spring and Beijing newsroom; Editing by
Edwina Gibbs)
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