The China Price War That Tesla Started May Wipe Out Some Carmakers

(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. triggered a price war in China that’s poised to reshape the world’s biggest car market, with hefty discounts threatening to drive some automakers out of business.

In October, Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker — a major player in hyper-competitive China — cut prices on models produced at its enormous factory on the outskirts of Shanghai. Matters escalated in January, with another discount that left Tesla’s locally made cars as much as 14% cheaper than last year, and in some cases almost 50% less expensive than in the U.S. and Europe.