Tesla Begins Refreshed Model S/X Deliveries In China With Thousands Of Vehicles Arriving At The Port

The refreshed Model S & X incorporate the boldest design change in Tesla’s history, at least since the EV maker unveiled the Model 3 without an instrument cluster back in 2016.

The new Model S Long Range & Plaid have started customer deliveries and they have been met with unanimous admiration for their performance and tech.

Especially the Plaid Model S which has been setting world records as the first production vehicle that can go 0 to 60 miles per hour in under 2 seconds. According to Elon Musk, the Plaid Model S accelerates 20% quicker than gravity.

The tech in the vehicles has also been met with equal awe. The new Model S & X come standard with an AMD GPU on par with the latest gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 5.

The new Model S & X also have active noise cancelation where microphones in the vehicle emit sound waves that cancel out road noise giving the vehicle a quiet luxurious drive.

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Although recently we are seeing signs that demand for the refreshed Model S & X is starting to wane in the US and Canada, with Telsa offering multiple incentives to drum up demand for those vehicles, still with all the amazing features present in the refreshed Model S and X, interest in those vehicles has been through the rough in the rest of the world. However, where the problem lies for the two vehicles is in their low production numbers and limited geographical access.

Tesla stopped producing the Model S and X in late 2020. At the time, Tesla said production was halted to upgrade the Model S and X lines to produce the refreshed version of those vehicles.

Tesla initially expected to only shut down the Model S & X lines for 18 days. However, worldwide parts shortage coupled with battery scarcity forced Tesla to extend the shutdown for several months.

In July 2021, Tesla restarted the Model S production line and at the time Elon Musk said “we’re in production and going to deliver the first 25 cars now, and then basically should be at several hundred cars per week soon and a thousand cars per week next quarter.”

Since then, Tesla has been able to significantly increase Model S and X production. And in 2022, Tesla has been able to produce slightly more than 71,000 Model S & Xs.

Although impressive, this is significantly less than Tesla’s plan to produce 100,000 Model S & Xs per year. And the limited production number has forced Tesla to restrict Model S & X deliveries to North America.

This has meant, Model S and X reservation holders in Europe and China have been forced to wait for more than 2 years to get delivery of their vehicle.

Undoubtedly, this has caused a lot of frustration among enthusiastic customers who can’t wait to get their hands on the new vehicles. Tesla began delivering the refreshed Model S & X in Europe at the end of 2022 ending the long wait for reservation holders on the old continent.

And today the wait thankfully has also finally come to an end for Model S & X reservation holders in China, as a ship carrying the refreshed vehicles has docked on the mainland.

Tesla made this announcement through the company’s official Tesla Asia Twitter page and together with the announcement, Tesla shared a video of the first refreshed Model S and X vehicles leaving the ship.

2023 Model S & Model X Deliveries Begin in China’s Mainland! pic.twitter.com/9Ei2jiOzr2— Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) March 27, 2023

As you can see from the video above, there are hundreds perhaps thousands of refreshed Model S & X vehicles that arrived in China suggesting the vehicles will soon be prevalent in the country.

Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.

Image: Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

So what do you think? Excited to see the first Model S & X Plaid arriving in China? Also, do you think the vehicles can compete in the Chinese luxury market? Let me know your thoughts in the comment below.

For more information check out: Tesla Giga Berlin Reaches Annualized Production Rate Of 250,000 Model Y's In Less Than A Year

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.