The import and sale of Tesla Model 3 vehicles in China has reportedly been suspended after customs officials found “irregularities” with the vehicles.
Business Insider reports that China is suspending the import and sale of Tesla Model 3 vehicles due to “various irregularities” in 1,600 imported cars. Chinese news agency Caixin stated that “some of the vehicles lacked product labels that would make them legal on the Chinese market.”
The report from Caixin stated that: “Some of the vehicles had no Chinese labels on brake fluid tanks, while some demonstrated a real motor capacity that differed from the one on the label.” Although Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, Caixin states that the company is blaming “incorrect settings on its printers,” for the issues.
Tesla has reportedly been ordered by Chinese officials not to sell any previously imported Model 3 vehicles, and that inspectors had been instructed to: “step up inspections of other imported Tesla models.”
Tesla recently announced a $35,000 Model 3 vehicle leading many analysts to worry about the possibility of a shrinking profit margin on Tesla vehicles; while Tesla also announced that it would be closing its global retail store network and planning to only sell vehicles online. Now, the company has announced a new SUV vehicle titled the Model Y, which has led many analysts to question the demand for Tesla vehicles.
Recently, the SEC requested that a federal judge hold Tesla CEO Elon Musk in contempt after the CEO tweeted: “Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019.” A few hours later, Musk corrected himself: “Meant to say annualized production rate at end of 2019 probably around 500k, ie 10k cars/week. Deliveries for year still estimated to be about 400k.”
In response to this, the SEC said in court documents filed on Monday: “He once again published inaccurate and material information about Tesla to his over 24 million Twitter followers, including members of the press, and made this inaccurate information available to anyone with internet access.” The SEC further said that both Musk and Tesla confirmed that his tweets had been pre-approved by the company.
Breitbart News will be following Tesla’s operations in both the U.S. and China closely.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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