Investor's Corner
Tesla is “absorbing” part of import tariffs to lower Model S and X prices in China
In an effort to make its electric cars more affordable to customers in China, Tesla has announced that it is cutting the prices of the Model S and Model X by 12 to 26% despite the ongoing trade war between the United States and the Asian economic powerhouse. Apart from lowering the prices of its two flagship vehicles, Tesla also opted to adjust the price of the Model 3, which is currently open for orders in the country.
China is the world’s largest electric car market, and the segment is only bound to get more prominent in the coming years due to the country’s aggressive push towards renewable transportation. That said, China has opted to place steep import taxes for vehicles entering the country, resulting in Tesla’s electric cars, which are produced in the United States, being weighed down with a 40% tariff.
When the additional duties took effect last July, Tesla had no choice but to raise the prices of the Model S and X by 150,000 yuan ($22,647) to 250,000 yuan ($37,744), resulting in a fully loaded Model S P100D costing as much as 1.47 million yuan ($221,937) in China — significantly higher than the $147,000 price of the electric car in the United States.
2/ Tesla Zhejiang (China 🇨🇳) Members Club meeting photos$TSLA #Tesla #China #TeslaChina pic.twitter.com/iIn82BMw76
— vincent (@vincent13031925) November 19, 2018
In a statement to Reuters, Tesla noted that the company would be lowering the prices of its vehicles in the country by “absorbing” part of the 40% import tariffs placed on its electric cars.
“We are absorbing a significant part of the tariff to help make our cars more affordable for customers in China,” Tesla stated.
Tesla further remarked that the Model 3, which is currently open for orders for Chinese reservation holders, is being given a price adjustment. When Tesla initially opened pre-orders for the vehicle, the Long Range Model 3 AWD started at 580,000 RMB (~$84,000) and the Model 3 Performance was listed with a starting price of 690,000 RMB (~$100,000). In the United States, the Long Range Model 3 AWD currently starts at $53,000 while the Model 3 Performance stars at $64,000.
With its recent price adjustments in place, Tesla noted to the publication that the Long Range Model 3 AWD would now start at 540,000 RMB (~$78,000), while the Model 3 Performance would start at 595,000 RMB (~$86,000). These prices, while still notably higher than the vehicle’s cost in the United States, offers a significant reduction from the Model 3’s initial price in China nonetheless.
Tesla Model 3 Performance ( China 🇨🇳 ) option pricing breakdown.
MP3: 689,000 RMB ($100K)
Red exterior (China addition):
26,900 RMB ($3.9K)White interior: 10,800 RMB ($1.5K)
19inch Wheel: Free
Advanced autopilot: 54,000 RMB
($7.8k)@TeslaPodcast $TSLA #Tesla #Model3 #China pic.twitter.com/XcKLjTTgvf— vincent (@vincent13031925) November 16, 2018
Such adjustments could bode well for Tesla’s business in the country. Before the US and China’s trade war resulted in a 40% tariff for Tesla’s vehicles, after all, China’s Customs Tariff Commission under China’s cabinet announced that it would reduce car import duties from 20-25% to just 15%. The announcement was met with much enthusiasm by electric car buyers in the country, resulting in a Tesla gallery in Shanghai clearing out its entire Model X 75D inventory in 24 hours.
Tesla’s lowered prices for its vehicles in China is but the tip of the iceberg in the company’s plans for the country’s growing electric car market. Last month, reports emerged from local Chinese media that Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai — which would allow the company to produce vehicles locally, thereby avoiding import taxes — is getting funding from local banks. Tesla has also announced in its third quarter vehicle and production delivery report that it is accelerating the construction of Gigafactory 3, which is expected to produce both batteries as well as the Model 3 and Model Y.
Elon Musk
Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’
“Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session,” Cramer said.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) got its latest synopsis from Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer, who finally realized something that many fans of the company have known all along: it’s not a car company. Instead, it’s a robotics company.
In a recent note that was released after Tesla reported Earnings in late January, Cramer seemed to recognize that the underwhelming financials and overall performance of the automotive division were not representative of the current state of affairs.
Instead, we’re seeing a company transition itself away from its early identity, essentially evolving like a caterpillar into a butterfly.
The narrative of the Earnings Call was simple: We’re not a car company, at least not from a birds-eye view. We’re an AI and Robotics company, and we are transitioning to this quicker than most people realize.
Tesla stock gets another analysis from Jim Cramer, and investors will like it
Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call featured plenty of analysis from CEO Elon Musk and others, and some of the more minor details of the call were even indicative of a company that is moving toward AI instead of its cars. For example, the Model S and Model X will be no more after Q2, as Musk said that they serve relatively no purpose for the future.
Instead, Tesla is shifting its focus to the vehicles catered for autonomy and its Robotaxi and self-driving efforts.
Cramer recognizes this:
“…we got results from Tesla, which actually beat numbers, but nobody cares about the numbers here, as electric vehicles are the past. And according to CEO Elon Musk, the future of this company comes down to Cybercabs and humanoid robots. Stock fell more than 3% the next day. That may be because their capital expenditures budget was higher than expected, or maybe people wanted more details from the new businesses. At this point, I think Musk acolytes might be more excited about SpaceX, which is planning to come public later this year.”
He continued, highlighting the company’s true transition away from vehicles to its Cybercab, Optimus, and AI ambitions:
“I know it’s hard to believe how quickly this market can change its attitude. Last night, I heard a disastrous car company speak. Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session. I didn’t like it as a car company. Boy, I love it as a Cybercab and humanoid robot juggernaut. Call me a buyer and give me five robots while I’m at it.”
Cramer’s narrative seems to fit that of the most bullish Tesla investors. Anyone who is labeled a “permabull” has been echoing a similar sentiment over the past several years: Tesla is not a car company any longer.
Instead, the true focus is on the future and the potential that AI and Robotics bring to the company. It is truly difficult to put Tesla shares in the same group as companies like Ford, General Motors, and others.
Tesla shares are down less than half a percent at the time of publishing, trading at $423.69.
There are a lot of Tesla bulls out there who have astronomical expectations for the company, especially as its arm of reach has gone well past automotive and energy and entered artificial intelligence and robotics.
However, some of the most bullish Tesla investors believe the company could become worth $100 trillion, and CEO Elon Musk does not believe that number is completely out of the question, even if it sounds almost ridiculous.
To put that number into perspective, the top ten most valuable companies in the world — NVIDIA, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, TSMC, Meta, Saudi Aramco, Broadcom, and Tesla — are worth roughly $26 trillion.
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Cathie Wood of ARK Invest believes the number is reasonable considering Tesla’s long-reaching industry ambitions:
“…in the world of AI, what do you have to have to win? You have to have proprietary data, and think about all the proprietary data he has, different kinds of proprietary data. Tesla, the language of the road; Neuralink, multiomics data; nobody else has that data. X, nobody else has that data either. I could see $100 trillion. I think it’s going to happen because of convergence. I think Tesla is the leading candidate [for $100 trillion] for the reason I just said.”
Musk said late last year that all of his companies seem to be “heading toward convergence,” and it’s started to come to fruition. Tesla invested in xAI, as revealed in its Q4 Earnings Shareholder Deck, and SpaceX recently acquired xAI, marking the first step in the potential for a massive umbrella of companies under Musk’s watch.
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Now that it is happening, it seems Musk is even more enthusiastic about a massive valuation that would swell to nearly four-times the value of the top ten most valuable companies in the world currently, as he said on X, the idea of a $100 trillion valuation is “not impossible.”
It’s not impossible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2026
Tesla is not just a car company. With its many projects, including the launch of Robotaxi, the progress of the Optimus robot, and its AI ambitions, it has the potential to continue gaining value at an accelerating rate.
Musk’s comments show his confidence in Tesla’s numerous projects, especially as some begin to mature and some head toward their initial stages.
Elon Musk
Tesla director pay lawsuit sees lawyer fees slashed by $100 million
The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.
The Delaware Supreme Court has cut more than $100 million from a legal fee award tied to a shareholder lawsuit challenging compensation paid to Tesla directors between 2017 and 2020.
The ruling leaves the case’s underlying settlement intact while significantly reducing what the plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive.
Delaware Supreme Court trims legal fees
As noted in a Bloomberg Law report, the case targeted pay granted to Tesla directors, including CEO Elon Musk, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Kimbal Musk, and Rupert Murdoch. The Delaware Chancery Court had awarded $176 million to the plaintiffs. Tesla’s board must also return stock options and forego years worth of pay.
As per Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. in an opinion for the Delaware Supreme Court’s full five-member panel, however, the decision of the Delaware Chancery Court to award $176 million to a pension fund’s law firm “erred by including in its financial benefit analysis the intrinsic value” of options being returned by Tesla’s board.
The justices then reduced the fee award from $176 million to $70.9 million. “As we measure it, $71 million reflects a reasonable fee for counsel’s efforts and does not result in a windfall,” Chief Justice Seitz wrote.
Other settlement terms still intact
The Supreme Court upheld the settlement itself, which requires Tesla’s board to return stock and options valued at up to $735 million and to forgo three years of additional compensation worth about $184 million.
Tesla argued during oral arguments that a fee award closer to $70 million would be appropriate. Interestingly enough, back in October, Justice Karen L. Valihura noted that the $176 award was $60 million more than the Delaware judiciary’s budget from the previous year. This was quite interesting as the case was “settled midstream.”
The lawsuit was brought by a pension fund on behalf of Tesla shareholders and focused exclusively on director pay during the 2017–2020 period. The case is separate from other high-profile compensation disputes involving Elon Musk.
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