Tesla US headquarters halts T-mall sales

Frontpage of Tesla's T-mall store. (Photo: screen shot from T-mall)

(ECNS) -- Electric carmaker Tesla has quietly and unilaterally halted its China branch trial to sell Model S vehicles on Alibaba's e-commerce platform T-mall, according to Economic Observer website eeo.com.cn.

Tesla China and T-mall have yet to comment on the report.

By Thursday noon, model orders were still possible via Tesla's T-mall store, with reports stating seven new cars had already been booked.

Tesla China set up its online store on October 20, allowing consumers with Yu'ebao accounts to put down a 50,000 yuan ($8,200) online deposit for a Model S and pick up their cars five days after paying the remainder.

An unnamed informant revealed that Tesla's US headquarters was dissatisfied with cooperation between its China branch and T-mall by which it takes a buyer between four to six months to receive a newly bought car.