Tesla's Shanghai factory delivered its first cars to customers Monday and chief executive Elon Musk said the electric automaker plans to set up a design center in China to create a model for worldwide sales.

Musk presided at a ceremony where a half-dozen buyers wearing red Tesla T-shirts drove away new Model 3 sedans. He expressed thanks to earlier customers who he said made Tesla's expansion in China possible by purchasing imported models from the fledgling brand.

Tesla Inc. built the Gigafactory 3, its first outside the United States, following the ruling Communist Party's 2018 decision to allow full foreign ownership in electric car manufacturing. It is due to produce the Model 3 and a planned SUV, the Model Y.

Producing in China insulates Tesla from possible duty increases on imported U.S.-made vehicles from Beijing's tariff war with Washington. Other foreign automakers including General Motors Co., Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Co. have long had joint venture factories in China.

Tesla reported earlier it delivered a total of 367,500 cars last year. The company surprised investors by reporting a $143 million profit in the quarter ending in September, raising hopes Tesla may be turning to profitability. The company lost $1.1 billion in the first half of the year.

Source: VOA news