Tesla's founder, Elon Musk, has confirmed that the company has reached an agreement with the Chinese authorities to build an Shanghai electric vehicle plant.

"The Chinese plant is about to start production in about three years and will serve the Chinese market and perhaps some other countries in the region. The intention is to produce Model 3, "Musk said.

"We will also produce Model S and Model X, but the idea is to produce mainly Model 3 for the local market and this is the only way to make this car available in China," he added. The US press recently announced that Tesla was authorized by the Shanghai authorities to settle in the city's free trade zone but its production would be taxed at an import duty of 25%. The company has not commented on this.

China strives to introduce electromobiles on its market. Recently, Beijing has confirmed that it will impose automakers' sales quotas for "clean cars" by 2019. Meanwhile, foreign auto companies set up their subsidiaries - joint ventures with Chinese manufacturers to boost their production.