Towards the end of the year, JD.com and Tesla are making big moves again!
On December 25th, JD's official Weibo account released a promotional poster with the caption "See you on December 31st" and @ Tesla's official Weibo account. Subsequently, Tesla's official WeChat account commented and forwarded the message, also stating "See you on December 31st".
JD Auto's official WeChat account also simultaneously forwarded the message and said, "On December 31st, let's pay attention to the big events happening between JD Auto and Tesla!"
One stone stirred up thousands of waves, and the official WeChat accounts of both sides "shouted", attracting speculations and discussions from netizens, hoping for "discounts on JD's car sales" and "cooperation in insurance". There were even jokes such as "60 interest free periods" and "buying plus members to give away cars". Among them, the most discussed topic is "JD wants to sell Tesla".
There are market rumors that JD platform may launch Tesla car ordering services. Regarding this rumor, Tesla China officials have stated that the partnership is not related to automotive sales and will be announced on December 31st.
In February of this year, Tesla's official flagship store on JD.com was launched, but currently only sells peripheral accessories such as charging stations, mudguards, sunshades, as well as peripheral products such as umbrellas and water bottles, and has not sold cars.
JD.com previously stated that Tesla's official flagship store covers a full range of automotive products, including over 200 types of products such as charging products, preferred accessories, selected clothing, and peripheral boutiques. JD Auto will take this as a starting point to jointly carry out online and offline linkage services with Tesla, promote cultural and creative products, peripheral products, and gradually engage in deep cooperation in different links such as warehousing, distribution, and charging pile installation.
Chen Haifeng, General Manager of JD Automotive Business Unit, stated that cooperation with Tesla is an important layout of JD Automotive in the new energy field. The domestic new energy vehicle market is about to enter the "finals" stage, and cars and peripheral products need to meet the growing personalized needs of the public. Through ecological and platform based "vertical and horizontal integration", car companies will better gain customer recognition.
In July of this year, Tesla China's official website officially announced that the price of the Cyberquad toy car was 11990 yuan. The product is available on Tesla China's official online store and on Tmall/JD Tesla's official flagship store. However, the car is sold in the flagship store under the "peripheral boutique" - "toy" category and is only suitable for children aged 8 to 12.
In addition, in September this year, there were media reports that JD.com will soon launch Tesla car ordering services. At that time, JD.com responded that the news was untrue.
Due to its insistence on self operation, Tesla rarely collaborates with e-commerce platforms. As early as 2014, Tesla's Tmall flagship store was launched, and 18 Model S cars were released, but the promotion only lasted for a week before being taken offline. At present, all Tesla models are sold directly through Tesla, and Tesla's official website remains its only vehicle ordering channel.