Tesla cars have achieved a milestone by being included for the first time in a Chinese government purchase list, as reported by state-owned media outlet Paper.cn.
Tesla, the only foreign-owned electric vehicle (EV) brand listed, appears on the procurement catalog published by Jiangsu province’s government in eastern China. Alongside Tesla, brands such as Volvo, owned by China’s Geely, and state-owned SAIC are also mentioned.
This inclusion allows government agencies and public organizations in Jiangsu province to acquire Tesla vehicles for official use, underscoring the close ties between China and Elon Musk’s company.
The news has sparked widespread discussion on Chinese social media platforms, with some users questioning the suitability of foreign cars for government use.
To address such concerns, the Jiangsu government clarified that Tesla models listed are considered “domestic cars, not imported,” according to a report from state-owned National Business Daily, citing a government source. Tesla, which operates a large gigafactory in Shanghai, produced approximately 947,000 vehicles in China in 2023, the majority of which were sold domestically.
Despite attempts to contact the Jiangsu government for further comments, there was no response to CNN’s inquiries. The government’s procurement catalog lists Tesla’s Shanghai-manufactured Model Y with a price tag of 249,900 yuan ($34,377).
China has emerged as a crucial market for Tesla, accounting for more than half of global EV sales. Last year, nearly a quarter of Tesla’s total revenue came from China.
However, Tesla faces mounting competition from local Chinese rivals. BYD surpassed Tesla as the world’s largest EV seller in the final quarter of 2023, although Tesla regained its lead in the first half of this year, marking a closely contested competition.
Previously, Tesla encountered restrictions preventing its vehicles from entering certain government and military installations in China due to concerns over spying and data security. These restrictions were lifted in April after Tesla’s cars met China’s stringent data security requirements, coinciding with Elon Musk’s visit to Beijing and his meeting with Premier Li Qiang, who hailed Tesla as a “successful model” for U.S.-China cooperation.
