Tesla China sales rise as executives dismiss demand, trade concerns     

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Tesla Inc’s shipments from its China factory climbed in February as price cuts attracted buyers and consumer spending kicked back into gear following massive Covid outbreaks across the nation in January.
The US electric vehicle pioneer delivered a total of 74,402 vehicles from its Shanghai facility last month, preliminary data from China’s Passenger Car Association showed. That’s a 32% increase from the same period a year ago and up 13% on the previous month. The specific breakdown of how many Tesla EVs were exported into other parts of Asia or Europe versus sent to the domestic market wasn’t immediately provided.
Despite some wobbles in China over the past year — an expansion of the Shanghai plant was reportedly delayed over data security concerns and there’s been regulatory scrutiny of the US company’s safety and customer service — Tesla said it “isn’t worried” about political and trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The automaker’s Chinese-born head of global production, Tom Zhu, fronting Tesla’s Investor Day, also shrugged off any concerns about waning demand amid growing competition in the world’s biggest car market, saying as “long as you offer a product with value at an affordable price, you don’t have to worry.”
Chinese rivals including Nio Inc and BYD Co have been expanding their lineups of electric cars and Tesla earlier this year slashed its prices and rolled out a slew of incentives.