TESLA

Musk wants 'Chinese-styled' Tesla electric vehicles

Tesla seems to be stepping up its game in China. After deliveries of the made-in-China Model 3s built from their new Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai began earlier this month, the EV maker recently announced that they will be opening a new design and engineering center in the market as well. Together with the announcement, they also released a new design drawing previewing a new hatchback EV model.
Apart from the render, no details were revealed about the future model just yet. From the looks of it though, it appears to be a hatchback with design cues inspired by the Model 3. It is possible that this vehicle previews a future 'Chinese-styled car' that CEO Elon Musk wants to build in China. At the same time, it could also be a design study of future models built at Tesla’s upcoming design and engineering center in China.
According to the Wechat announcement, the reason why Tesla is putting up a design center in the region is because of Musk’s plan to shift from 'Made in China' to 'Designed in China'. Having a vehicle designed in China will certainly help the automaker grow in the world's largest car market. Its future vehicle designs could be made specifically to cater to the Chinese market. These China-designed vehicles could then be sold to other markets all over the world.
At the moment, Tesla has not elaborated on its plans to build a global model design in China just yet. All we have is a sketch which may or may not even become a production model. Instead, Tesla is focused on its hiring efforts for the China design and engineering center. So if you happen to be a car designer in China, Tesla might just want to talk to you.

by Jose Altoveros