Tesla jumps after China grants purchase tax exemption on 16 models

Shares in Tesla were up on Friday after China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that it would exempt 16 of the US car manufacturer's electric vehicle models from its purchase tax.

The company's shares rose by 3.42% in premarket dealings to $229.30 with the exemption set to help Tesla negate the costs associated with Chinese tariffs on imports of US cars, auto parts and components that are set to kick-in again on 15 December.

Tesla was preparing to launch a major sales push in the Asian giant at the time, even as its eccentric founder, Elon Musk, was visiting the country, close on the heels of three Tesla events targeted at Chinese auto sector reporters, social media influencers and electric vehicle owners.

The electronic vehicle manufacturer had been exporting cars to China since 2014 with production from its new vehicle assembly factory in Shanghai set to begin before the end of 2019.

The plant was Tesla's first outside of the US and would initially be equipped to build 3,000 Model 3 vehicles per week.