Tesla closing in on 1b yuan plot for China factory

Beijing

TESLA INC is in the process of procuring land in Shanghai for its first factory outside of the US, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, pushing ahead with plans to set up production in China after months of tumult involving CEO Elon Musk.

The carmaker is the sole bidder for a plot of land with an auction price of about one billion yuan (S$199.5 million), the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn't public. A decision by the Shanghai government to allocate the land to Tesla could be made as soon as this month, they said.