Made in China Tesla

[Mille Pun]

In a recent interview, Musk once revealed that the planning China factory would be manufacture for EVs selling in 'Greater China Area', by this, it is likely HK would be impacted.

i believe most of us, if not all, would dislike a MIC Tesla for purchase......how can we express it clearly before its happening?

 

[Festerfeet]

In a recent interview, Musk once revealed that the planning China factory would be manufacture for EVs selling in 'Greater China Area', by this, it is likely HK would be impacted.

i believe most of us, if not all, would dislike a MIC Tesla for purchase......how can we express it clearly before its happening?

.
I would be interested in the reasons why you think a MIC Tesla would be unattractive.

 

[ediot]

first thing, being made in china doesnt make it bad. typically, going to manufacturers in China means being able to really cut costs aspects like labour skills, manufacture tolerants, material quality, quality control, health and safety, environmental impact and related costs, etc etc. It DOESNT mean everythiing automatically becomes inferior when made in China, it really depends on how you choose to manufacture your product (OEM buying vs self producing etc). Did you know that a lot of crap products are now made in european countries using imported slave labour? and decent products with all its parts made in china then get shipped to italy etc for "final assembly"? these products all become "made in italy/ france/ switzerland/ area 51", but it has next to no relevance to the quality/build of the product.

as for trying to ensure your tesla order in the future isn't made in china, maybe you could get a friend in the US to order and take delivery, then ship it to HK.

 

[Mille Pun]

If there are no choices on earth, say, iPhone are all MIC, then fine.

but Tesla will still have made in USA or even made in Europe, and why as a customer would like to have MIC?

factory at China to serve China market, ok (to mitigate the import tax), just like other automakers such as BMW. But for HK? No thanks.

 

[Festerfeet]

Not knowing what concerns the OP has I have listed a few of the potential positives which I hope will get this thread back on track.

If Tesla wishes to grow it's market share significantly, it will need further manufacturing capacity over the longer term.
China is now the largest market for new cars and one of the fastest growing markets
Building in China will avoid import taxes which are a significant part of the cost of a new Tesla in the Chinese market
China has advantageous trade agreements with some countries that the US does not which broadens the market for Tesla.
A JV in China allows Tesla access to other funding arrangements which are important to a fast growing company in the automotive sector which requires huge capital investment.
A lot of Chinese cities would benefit from reduced tailpipe emissions.
A growth in the EV market of China will help put pressure on the government to look at power generation emissions.

 

[Festerfeet]

If there are no choices on earth, say, iPhone are all MIC, then fine.

but Tesla will still have made in USA or even made in Europe, and why as a customer would like to have MIC?

factory at China to serve China market, ok (to mitigate the import tax), just like other automakers such as BMW. But for HK? No thanks.

No reasons yet given but I have to hope this is more than idealogical snobbery.

 

[Auzie]

This is a sensitive topic and not easy to articulate without potentially offending some people.


My view is that stereotyping and discrimination against physical goods is in no way equal to stereotyping and discriminating against people.


It is unacceptable to stereotype and discriminate against people because it is hurtful and possibly incorrect. The decent and respectful thing to do when we deal with individuals is to evaluate each individual on his/her merits.


Stereotyping is a process of efficiency in thinking, evaluation and making decisions. When stereotyping, we oversimplify and sacrifice precision as the efficiency or speed are deemed more relevant than precision. Stereotyping forms the basis of branding.


Branding machines by the country of origin is based on stereotyping. Stereotyping machines is not hurtful as machines have no feelings, at least, that is what I would like to think.


That said, I can understand how the topic of this thread may be hurtful to people in China or of Chinese origin, my apologies for that. People take pride in their country of origin. My say to that is, having pride in one's origins is fine but pride should not stand in the way of scrutiny of machine branding. The relevant machine branding that we are talking about is "Made in XYZ country". I'll also add that as an Australian I feel zero national pride in respect to machines "Made in Australia" as we make hardly any machines in Australia, and we are definitely behind China in that respect.


Various countries have built their "Made in XYZ" brands by delivering their products to world markets over decades and centuries. The quality of these products are the pillars of "Made in XYZ" brands. Perceptions about "Made in XYZ" brands are formed over long spans of time and after experiencing quality (or the lack of it) of large quantities of delivered products. It takes a long time to shift these perceptions, but it is not impossible. The shiny examples of shifted perceptions in country branding are Japan and South Korea.


I admit that I do stereotype machines based on branding "Made in XYZ". I would not buy Chinese made TV despite it being half price of equivalent Japanese model. That is my personal choice and decision based on "Made in XYZ" branding.


I definitely stereotype cars based on branding.


My checklist when buying a car is as follows:
Brand - deal breaker
Price - wide band
Size - narrow band
Colour - optional


Made in China brand and Tesla brand are on the opposing ends of the spectrum. Tesla brand, if it is made in China, will suffer a hit of "Made in China" brand.


That said, my view is that Tesla is making the decision to make cars in China after careful consideration and out of necessity.


For many people, "Made in China" is a deal breaker. I am not sure if Tesla can overcome that branding obstacle in markets outside of China.

 

[Titus]

Write to Elon Musk saying you won't buy one (or simply, in a free market, don't buy one) and also dump half the stuff inside your home LOL

 

[Auzie]

Write to Elon Musk saying you won't buy one (or simply, in a free market, don't buy one) and also dump half the stuff inside your home LOL

People will not say it to Elon but they will act it as you suggest.

Having a dubious quality small items in a household comes nowhere near to having a dubious quality car.

 

[Titus]

People will not say it to Elon but they will act it as you suggest.

Having a dubious quality small items in a household comes nowhere near to having a dubious quality car.

LOL if you read OP's post and main question, he/she asked how do people express their displeasure to Tesla "how can we express it clearly before its happening?"; how dare they dare try to lower the price of their cars for their masses, how dare they not bend and distort economic realities and make everything in the US as cheap as China. Or most of all, how dare they damage the resale value of my current Tesla by associating it with MIC when I bought the car with the assumption everything is made in anywhere other tham China?

That's why I said just tell Tesla as all other advice is just off topic =) If you feel "people will not say it to Elon" then please offer another suggestion to OP's request.

Maybe Mr Musk will refund your deposit to cancel any orders like he did to that other guy to express "as you can choose what to buy in a free market, I can choose who to sell to too" hahaha
This is funny it's like going back in time to the 80s but substitute the word Chinese with Japanese lol

 

[Titus]

LOL if you read OP's post and main question, he/she asked how do people express their displeasure to Tesla "how can we express it clearly before its happening?"; how dare they dare try to lower the price of their cars for their masses, how dare they not bend and distort economic realities and make everything in the US as cheap as China. Or most of all, how dare they damage the resale value of my current Tesla by associating it with MIC when I bought the car with the assumption everything is made in anywhere other tham China?

That's why I said just tell Tesla as all other advice is just off topic =) If you feel "people will not say it to Elon" then please offer another suggestion to OP's request.

Maybe Mr Musk will refund your deposit to cancel any orders like he did to that other guy to express "as you can choose what to buy in a free market, I can choose who to sell to too" hahaha
This is funny it's like going back in time to the 80s but substitute the word Chinese with Japanese lol

My 2700 USD American designed and branded motorcycle Klim Adventure Rally suit (before freight from the US after being made in China LOL) and 500 USD Leatt carbon fiber neck brace designed by South Africans and made in China must be risking my life with their dubiousness LOL and all of that money ending up in an American business and air freight companys' hands..... hahahaha bet the Chinese made so much money off of me too LOL don't pay a Chinese a dime and expect them to make you a watch that you usually buy from the Swiss at 10,000 bucks. Doing so only makes one person look foolish

 

[markwj]

Moderator's Note: Steady, people, steady. Let's keep this on the right side of civility.

 

[gubes]

The Chinese are trying so hard to promote their domestic EV manufacturers that they are in many ways trying to disadvantage foreigners. It makes sense for Elon to say: "That we would consider it" to dangle the carrot to get favors. Even though Tesla has opened up its Patents, their manufacturing process is still heavily guarded.

As it stands today, no foreign company can manufacture cars in China WITHOUT a local partner. BMW uses Brilliance for instance, and VW group uses SAIC Motor. I remember Elon mentioning that he doesn't feel comfortable engaging with a local partner. Local partners basically get your IP, do zero R&D and simply reap the benefits. Having said that, longer term it would make sense to produce cars in China if it becomes a big market for them (which is only a matter of time). But this would not happen until after 2020 at the earliest. Right now, Tesla is not demand constrained - they are capacity constrained. Their Freemont factory could produce as many as 500,000 vehicles before they would have to consider building a new facility. They are targeting ~80,000 units this year with both S & X models. Model 3 and Y would represent the bulk of additional sales once that commenced production towards the end of 2017 (or most likely early 2018).

The BMWs you buy in Hong Kong are made in Germany. Many of the BMWs you buy in China are made in China. So I highly doubt that a Chinese made Tesla would be selling in Hong Kong for some time to come. Even if they decided today to go ahead and do a JV and build a factory, it would take many years before you would see any end product and that factory would be designed to produce left hand drive vehicles for the China market.

 

[markwj]

Moderator's Note: ... and a bunch got moved to snippiness

Sorry for anyone that got caught up in it.

This thread has merit. Let's keep it on topic, please. And try to do that without personal insults, name calling, or racist remarks.

 

[gavinwang]

In a recent interview, Musk once revealed that the planning China factory would be manufacture for EVs selling in 'Greater China Area', by this, it is likely HK would be impacted.

i believe most of us, if not all, would dislike a MIC Tesla for purchase......how can we express it clearly before its happening?

iPhones all made in China but still touted for their premium quality speaks in volume that a foreign brand shouldn't blame China for shoddy "Made in China" quality, they should only blame themselves for not managing it properly or worse, in many cases intentionally cutting corners for cost reasons. Another point is, I may also prefer a German-made for cars, or Italy-made for suits or shoes, but I don't consider a US-made the best exemplification of craftsmanship (except for certain stuff that only the US can make, of course). I would have never considered buying a US made car before Tesla came along, well, it's Silicon Valley, not Detroit.

 

[DCbus]

Let me assure you guys that a MIC car is as good as those that were made overseas. I had bought a MIC Nissan to use inside China, it's QC was as good as the overseas one if not better. As a matter I thought it was better than Tesla in terms of quality control! The bottom line is how the company manages QC

 

[Titus]

iPhones all made in China but still touted for their premium quality speaks in volume that a foreign brand shouldn't blame China for shoddy "Made in China" quality, they should only blame themselves for not managing it properly or worse, in many cases intentionally cutting corners for cost reasons. Another point is, I may also prefer a German-made for cars, or Italy-made for suits or shoes, but I don't consider a US-made the best exemplification of craftsmanship (except for certain stuff that only the US can make, of course). I would have never considered buying a US made car before Tesla came along, well, it's Silicon Valley, not Detroit.

And why would one consider Detroit when they knowingly ignore safety and customer deaths?

GM Recalls: Whistle-Blower Was Ignored; Mary Barra Faces Congress - Businessweek

And if they cheat and lie for this, what else are they capable of?

VW's ex-CEO Winterkorn 'Knew About Defeat Device' in Early 2014 - Fortune