AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)11/10 Report--

On October 19th, Tesla announced the launch of the vehicle export business, and the first batch of domestic Tesla cars will be exported to the European market, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and more than a dozen European countries. The exported vehicles are Model 3 standard life upgrades. Officials say the configuration of exported vehicles is the same as those on sale at home.

However, careful netizens found that the Model 3 model, which is neatly parked in the port, is different from the models currently on sale in China, and is suspected to have been changed to Model 3. Some netizens suspect that at present, Tesla's Shanghai factory already has the production of higher configuration Model 3 models, but the models sold in China are still not cash models, and choose to export the new models, which is suspected of letting mainland consumers "digest inventory".

On Nov. 8, a blogger revealed on Weibo that a modified domestic Model 3 had appeared on the streets of Hong Kong. Judging from the pictures, although these Model 3s on the streets of Hong Kong are affixed with white protective paper, they can be found through the white paper that door handles, window chrome strips and other parts have been fumigated. You can also see through the window that although it is a right-hand steering car, the central control is also the latest style.

In other words, if these Model 3 models on the streets of Hong Kong are domestic models, it means that the revamped Model 3 models are already sold in Hong Kong, but mainland consumers still buy old "inventory" vehicles, with a tendency to treat mainland consumers differently.

In this regard, Tao Lin, vice president of foreign affairs of Tesla, urgently refuted the rumor: "Hong Kong is a right rudder car, made in the United States." As we have explained, the supply chain used by the factory in Shanghai is different from that in the United States, so the timing of the change is not the same. In fact, there are differences in configuration of products produced in different regions, which is very common in the automotive industry. "

However, Tao Lin's argument is also untenable. According to the uploaded picture, the VIN code of the modified Model 3 body begins with LRW. The common sense of the automobile industry is that VIN code is an international vehicle identity, and the coding rules are consistent all over the world. The first character represents the country, L is China, 1 is the United States, W is Germany, J is Japan and so on. Therefore, this Tesla should be domestic, not American.

In addition, the tenth VIN code represents the annual model, A corresponds to the 2010 model, B corresponds to the 2011 model, and so on, L corresponds to the 2021 model. Taken together, this Model 3 is the new domestic model.

So Tao Lin said that the Model 3 came from the United States, didn't it become a rumor? Under the Weibo, it quickly became the scene of anti-"refuting rumors". Later, Tao Lin deleted the Weibo.

Today, Tao Lin wrote again on Weibo, "speculation about us selling the modified vehicles to Hong Kong instead of supplying the Chinese mainland market is really misunderstood." The right rudder vehicles currently sold in the Hong Kong market are imported from the United States, and there is no mass production of right rudder vehicles in the Shanghai factory. Test vehicles and production cars are also completely different concepts. "

In this response, Tao Lin still did not mention the information about the frame number and suspected that the Model 3, which appeared in Hong Kong, was actually a test vehicle, not a mass production model.

As for why consumers care so much about changing the Model 3? This is mainly because the changed vehicle has not only made changes in the details of the design, but also upgraded the headlight group and increased the electric rear door. All in all, the modified Model 3 has a higher configuration than the current model.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat