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Tesla Model 3 Performance targets BMW M3 with ultra-competitive pricing in China

[Credit: Motor Trend]

Published

7 years ago

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Following an announcement from authorities about the upcoming suspension of extra tariffs placed on vehicles imported from the United States, Tesla has reduced the pricing of some Model S and Model X variants in China. The Model 3, which is expected to start deliveries next year, also received some price adjustments.

As it turns out, the recent price reduction to the Model 3 Performance has made the vehicle incredibly competitive in price against rivals like the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe. When Tesla initially allowed Chinese reservation holders to configure their Model 3, the Performance variant was listed with a price of 689,000 RMB (roughly $100,000). With the recent adjustments, though, the Performance variant’s price has been reduced to just 560,000 RMB (around $81,000).

By adopting such a pricing strategy, Tesla has all but made the Model 3 Performance as one of the best bang-for-the-buck sports sedans in the country. After all, the BMW M3 — a vehicle that the all-electric car is competing with — currently sells for 998,000 RMB ($162,000). The Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe, another high-performance, luxury sedan competing in the same market, currently costs 1,198,000 RMB ($173,623).

The current prices of the Model 3 Performance, BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupe in China. (Credit: vincent13031925/Twitter)

With instant torque, superior 0-60 mph times, free over-the-air updates, and Enhanced Autopilot, the Model 3 Performance’s 560,000 RMB price is nothing short of a bargain. Being an all-electric car, the Model 3 Performance is also a zero-emissions vehicle, making it a perfect fit for China’s aggressive push towards the adoption of EVs. With even its price being an advantage against its rivals, it would not be surprising if the Tesla Model 3 Performance ends up outselling its ICE-powered rivals in China.

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Since adjusting the prices of its vehicles, Tesla’s stores in the Asian economic powerhouse have experienced a large influx of customers. Reports from local media outlets, for one, noted that numerous electric car buyers visited Tesla’s retail stores after the Model S and X’s prices were lowered. It did not take long before Tesla began sending out emails to customers apologizing for delays resulting from the increase in demand for its vehicles.

Tesla’s electric cars might already be more affordable with their updated prices, but the company is aiming to lower the cost of its vehicles even further. The electric car maker is currently in the process of building Gigafactory 3, a facility that produces both battery packs and electric cars. Reports from local Chinese media have suggested that the factory would start producing vehicles in the second half of 2019. Two vehicles will be manufactured in Gigafactory 3 — the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y SUV, both of which are set to compete with mainstream local-made EVs.

The construction of Gigafactory 3 is already underway. Recent drone footage reveals that a perimeter fence has been set up in the company’s 864,885-square meter plot of land in Shanghai’s Lingang Industrial Zone. The site has been attracting a lot of interest from the country’s workforce as well, with a recent job fair getting extended due to the overwhelming number of applicants applying for openings on Gigafactory 3.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla FSD’s newest model is coming, and it sounds like ‘the last big piece of the puzzle’

“There’s a model that’s an order of magnitude larger that will be deployed in January or February 2026.”

Published

3 hours ago

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December 10, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving’s newest model is coming very soon, and from what it sounds like, it could be “the last big piece of the puzzle,” as CEO Elon Musk said in late November.

During the xAI Hackathon on Tuesday, Musk was available for a Q&A session, where he revealed some details about Robotaxi and Tesla’s plans for removing Robotaxi Safety Monitors, and some information on a future FSD model.

While he said Full Self-Driving’s unsupervised capability is “pretty much solved,” and confirmed it will remove Safety Monitors in the next three weeks, questions about the company’s ability to give this FSD version to current owners came to mind.

Musk said a new FSD model is coming in about a month or two that will be an order-of-magnitude larger and will include more reasoning and reinforcement learning.

He said:

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“There’s a model that’s an order of magnitude larger that will be deployed in January or February 2026. We’re gonna add a lot of reasoning and RL (reinforcement learning). To get to serious scale, Tesla will probably need to build a giant chip fab. To have a few hundred gigawatts of AI chips per year, I don’t see that capability coming online fast enough, so we will probably have to build a fab.”

It rings back to late November when Musk said that v14.3 “is where the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands.”

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With the advancements made through Full Self-Driving v14 and v14.2, there seems to be a greater confidence in solving self-driving completely. Musk has also personally said that driver monitoring has been more relaxed, and looking at your phone won’t prompt as many alerts in the latest v14.2.1.

This is another indication that Tesla is getting closer to allowing people to take their eyes off the road completely.

Along with the Robotaxi program’s success, there is evidence that Tesla could be close to solving FSD. However, it is not perfect. We’ve had our own complaints with FSD, and although we feel it is the best ADAS on the market, it is not, in its current form, able to perform everything needed on roads.

But it is close.

That’s why there is some legitimate belief that Tesla could be releasing a version capable of no supervision in the coming months.

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All we can say is, we’ll see.

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Investor's Corner

SpaceX IPO is coming, CEO Elon Musk confirms

However, it appears Musk is ready for SpaceX to go public, as Ars Technica Senior Space Editor Eric Berger wrote an op-ed that indicated he thought SpaceX would go public soon. Musk replied, basically confirming it.

Published

10 hours ago

on

December 10, 2025

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elon musk side profile
Joel Kowsky, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Elon Musk confirmed through a post on X that a SpaceX initial public offering (IPO) is on the way after hinting at it several times earlier this year.

It also comes one day after Bloomberg reported that SpaceX was aiming for a valuation of $1.5 trillion, adding that it wanted to raise $30 billion.

Musk has been transparent for most of the year that he wanted to try to figure out a way to get Tesla shareholders to invest in SpaceX, giving them access to the stock.

He has also recognized the issues of having a public stock, like litigation exposure, quarterly reporting pressures, and other inconveniences.

However, it appears Musk is ready for SpaceX to go public, as Ars Technica Senior Space Editor Eric Berger wrote an op-ed that indicated he thought SpaceX would go public soon.

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Musk replied, basically confirming it:

Berger believes the IPO would help support the need for $30 billion or more in capital needed to fund AI integration projects, such as space-based data centers and lunar satellite factories. Musk confirmed recently that SpaceX “will be doing” data centers in orbit.

AI appears to be a “key part” of SpaceX getting to Musk, Berger also wrote. When writing about whether or not Optimus is a viable project and product for the company, he says that none of that matters. Musk thinks it is, and that’s all that matters.

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It seems like Musk has certainly mulled something this big for a very long time, and the idea of taking SpaceX public is not just likely; it is necessary for the company to get to Mars.

The details of when SpaceX will finally hit that public status are not known. Many of the reports that came out over the past few days indicate it would happen in 2026, so sooner rather than later.

But there are a lot of things on Musk’s plate early next year, especially with Cybercab production, the potential launch of Unsupervised Full Self-Driving, and the Roadster unveiling, all planned for Q1.

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Tesla adds 15th automaker to Supercharger access in 2025

Published

14 hours ago

on

December 10, 2025

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tesla supercharger
Credit: Tesla

Tesla has added the 15th automaker to the growing list of companies whose EVs can utilize the Supercharger Network this year, as BMW is the latest company to gain access to the largest charging infrastructure in the world.

BMW became the 15th company in 2025 to gain Tesla Supercharger access, after the company confirmed to its EV owners that they could use any of the more than 25,000 Supercharging stalls in North America.

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Newer BMW all-electric cars, like the i4, i5, i7, and iX, are able to utilize Tesla’s V3 and V4 Superchargers. These are the exact model years, via the BMW Blog:

  • i4: 2022-2026 model years
  • i5: 2024-2025 model years
    • 2026 i5 (eDrive40 and xDrive40) after software update in Spring 2026
  • i7: 2023-2026 model years
  • iX: 2022-2025 model years
    • 2026 iX (all versions) after software update in Spring 2026

With the expansion of the companies that gained access in 2025 to the Tesla Supercharger Network, a vast majority of non-Tesla EVs are able to use the charging stalls to gain range in their cars.

So far in 2025, Tesla has enabled Supercharger access to:

  • Audi
  • BMW
  • Genesis
  • Honda
  • Hyundai
  • Jaguar Land Rover
  • Kia
  • Lucid
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Nissan
  • Polestar
  • Subaru
  • Toyota
  • Volkswagen
  • Volvo

Drivers with BMW EVs who wish to charge at Tesla Superchargers must use an NACS-to-CCS1 adapter. In Q2 2026, BMW plans to release its official adapter, but there are third-party options available in the meantime.

They will also have to use the Tesla App to enable Supercharging access to determine rates and availability. It is a relatively seamless process.

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