In what will be a sign of easing tensions between the US and China and a harbinger of relief for Tesla amid a rusty few months, China’s customs authority has lifted its suspension on import of Tesla’s Model 3. Unnamed sources have confirmed the same to Reuters.
A customs official, going by the surname ‘Tao’ has also given an official statement to the news agency, commenting “We can confirm that the warning notice on Tesla has been canceled”. There has been no official statement from Tesla yet.
Tesla’s Model 3 imports were stopped by the Chinese administration for not adhering to the policy of having warning signs in native Chinese language. The suspension came into affect almost a week ago. At the time of suspension, Tesla said that the company had reached a solution with the authorities.
According to financial data from Reuters, Tesla’s shares fell more than 5 percent on the day news of its imports being suspended first broke and rose 3 percent later after it said the issue had been resolved.
The lifting of suspension couldn’t have come at a better time. Both US and China have been embroiled in a bitter trade war, which has only now started showing signs of de-escalation. As for Tesla, the company only started delivering Model 3 cars to China at the end of February. China is a key market for Tesla considering how rapidly the country has grown in terms of electric vehicle adoption.
While Tesla imports most of its cars in China as of now, it has already started work on building one of its Gigafactories, the ground breaking ceremony of which happened just a few months back.
