Tesla Model 3 Owners Flood Beijing MVA For License Plates

It seems China has gone mad over the Tesla Model 3.

A month after the first arrivals in China of the Model 3 was greeted with a mania befitting a touring boy band, proud owners of this battery electric vehicle are flooding the six Beijing offices of the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), China's equivalent of the U.S. DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles).

A barrage of posts on social media platforms such as Sina Weibo report the same thing -- owners of Tesla Model 3s descending in droves on MVA offices and wanting to get their license plates now.

One social media post dated March 20 said this about the arrival of the Model 3s: “Hi @elonmusk , u just created a huge problem for the Chinese DMV. Many #Tesla r waiting in line to get license plates this morning (9am, not even pike [sic] hrs yet), this is only 1 of the 6 locations in Beijing."

This crush of Tesla owners at the MVA was highlighted by footage taken Thursday in Beijing, which shows a flood of Model 3 blanketing the parking space at one of the offices of MVA.

Other videos shared online show throngs of Tesla Model 3 owners lining-up to get license plates for their electric cars. Some noted that interestingly enough, most of the vehicles in the video were the Model 3 Performance, as can be seen by the sedans’ Power Sports Aero Wheels only available for Model 3s destined for China.

The first ever shipment of Model 3s was reported to have arrived at the Tianjin Free Trade Zone near Xingang Port, Tianjin on Feb. 11. One person posted what he claimed was "the very first photos of @Tesla Model 3 Shipment to China."

The sudden but welcome tsunami in orders for the Tesla Model 3 all-electric sedan caused the inventory system in some of Tesla's sales offices in China to crash during the week of Feb. 17.

The same frenzy that greeted the arrival of the first ship loaded with Model 3s in China, and the release of these vehicles to their owners is now being duplicated at the Beijing offices of the MVA.

Tesla’s strategy for the Model 3 in China seems to consist of selling the car’s higher-end versions such as the Long Range RWD, Long Range AWD, and Performance variants. All Model 3 now sold in China are bult in the United States. This situation will change soon.

By the end of the year, Tesla plans to start Model 3 production at its Shanghai Gigafactory 3. This massive facility will build affordable versions of the Model 3, as well as the recently-unveiled Model Y crossover SUV.