A Tesla Model S electric car is displayed on media day at the 2024 Paris Auto Show in Paris, France, October 14, 2024. REUTERS
BEIJING, April 11 (Reuters) – Tesla has suspended taking new orders for Model S and Model X vehicles on its Chinese website, Reuters checks showed on Friday, as the world’s two largest economies exchange blows in a trade war.
New orders for the two imported models were also no longer available on the U.S. automaker’s WeChat mini programme account Both models are made in the United States and imported to China.
The company did not give a reason for the move, which comes after China imposed tariffs of 84% on U.S. goods in response to Trump’s levies on Chinese imports that now total 145%.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. automaker makes Model 3 and Model Y cars at its plant in the commercial hub of Shanghai, to be sold in China and exported to markets such as Europe, making up the vast majority of its sales.
China imported 1,553 Model X cars and 311 Model S cars in 2024, said Li Yanwei, an analyst with the China Auto Dealers Association.
Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Clarence Fernandez
