????特斯拉（Tesla）位于中國大陸的唯一一個展廳（公司喜歡將其稱為“體驗中心”）里的銷售人員稱，全國各地的富人都到這里來參觀光芒四射的Model S。當他們聽到118,000美元的價格時，幾乎都是同樣的反應：“哇！”

????潛臺詞是：哇！真便宜。

????特斯拉公司高管表示，在未來幾年內，中國將成為它最大的市場，特斯拉汽車公司應該抓住這個機遇。所以，特斯拉計劃在2014年底在中國另外十多個城市開店，還計劃在中國投資數千萬美元。事實上，特斯拉要想實現今年Model S銷量增長56%的目標，中國將是主要的推動力。

????雖然25%的進口關稅和增值稅將Model S的價格從在美國的71,000美元推高到了118,000美元，但中國消費者卻認為這款汽車算不上超級昂貴。很大程度上，這是因為其他汽車品牌也要接受同樣的課稅。例如，在中國，寶馬（BMW）X5 SUV的價格要高于特斯拉汽車；而在美國，前者的價格卻更低。

????在中國，特斯拉真正的出路在于能否實現國產化。如果可行，特斯拉不僅可以避開沉重的進口關稅，而且客戶還可以享受地方政府的機動車稅收減免優惠，因為這項優惠政策不面向進口汽車。特斯拉創始人埃隆?穆斯克上個月訪問北京期間列舉了特斯拉的希望和潛在風險。他表示，在三至四年時間內，公司會努力在中國實現特斯拉汽車國產化。

????最夢幻的情形是，特斯拉在中國生產汽車，所有人都來購買他們的汽車，而中央政府也很滿意，因為更多人在使用電動車，然后，特斯拉在幾十年內占據中國汽車銷量榜首。

????但在現實中，穆斯克的野心將面臨重重障礙。外國公司往往會發現，在中國本土生產自己的產品并不容易。他們必須與一家當地中國公司合作，而后者通常想要染指“老外”的技術。在合資公司中，政治權力往往要壓過控股權。此外，中國對于外國人有著根深蒂固的不信任。

????中國外企專家、《十億消費者：博弈中國市場的第一手經驗》（One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China）一書的作者麥健陸說：“外國公司雄心勃勃地乘興而來，期待在短期內就能實現自己的抱負，結果卻一次次地鎩羽而歸。”

????特斯拉在中國將面臨兩個巨大的障礙。首先是與中國國內公司成立合資公司生產汽車。特斯拉的目標很可能會跟它中國合作伙伴相差甚遠。2006年，中國發布了一份冗長的報告，名為《國家中長期科學和技術發展規劃綱要 （2006━2020年）》（The National Medium- and Long-Term Program for the Development of Science and Technology 2006-2020）”。報告中提出了發展“自主創新”的計劃綱要，以及至2020年將中國建設成科技強國的目標。而要與西方科技相匹敵，關鍵的一條途徑是：吸收和再創新外國的科技。

????2010年，麥健陸在針對這份報告的文章中寫道：“許多跨國科技公司都認為，這個規劃是制定了技術抄襲的藍圖，規模之大前所未見。”

????大家可以想象這樣一個場景：中國公司開始模仿特斯拉的電池創新，然后以遠低于特斯拉汽車的售價銷售他們自己生產的汽車。到那時，特斯拉將無計可施。

????特斯拉面臨的第二大障礙是在中國與國有電力公司合作興建充電網絡。穆斯克在談論潛在合作伙伴時，透露了中國最大的兩家電力公司，這一點當然并不出人意料之外。但中國可能不會像特斯拉一樣，熱衷于建設充電站。如果中國國內的電動汽車制造商獲得了優先權，特斯拉該怎么辦？特斯拉愿意在中國投資多少錢來冒險？

????麥健陸談到穆斯克時說：“困難程度和耗費的時間之長將遠遠超出他的預期。他是否具備解決這些難題的管理能力、耐心和資本？他首先應該思考一下這個問題。”

????中國熱烈歡迎特斯拉的到來，這應該也沒人會覺得意外。穆斯克在訪問中國期間先后會見了多位政府高官和上海當地的政界人士。特斯拉在全球汽車市場上只是規模相對較小的一家公司，這樣的接待可謂高規格。會見之所以能夠舉行，很大程度上是因為中國需要電動汽車，而它距離截至2020年實現500萬輛電動汽車的目標仍有相當大的差距。北京最近一次車牌搖號中，電動汽車的申請人數量甚至連最低水平線都沒有達到，而普通汽油汽車爭搶1個號牌的人數則多達90人。

????特斯拉并不回避面臨的挑戰。特斯拉在中國的發言人佩吉?楊說：“幾乎所有人都希望我們能披露我們與政府之間的談判，潛在的合資公司，在哪里建設超級充電站等，而對于我們而言，現在的關鍵是我們正在為此努力。至于我們接下來會做什么，目前尚無具體計劃。”

????當然，只關注特斯拉所面臨的挑戰有失公允。特斯拉第一款汽車推出之前以及開始興建充電網絡之前，穆斯克在美國也曾面臨幾乎同樣多的挑戰。但在中國本土生產汽車將產生一些獨特的難題，即便像特斯拉這樣大膽的成功公司也不可避免。

????在北京的展廳內，銷售人員正在解釋Model S采用空氣動力學設計的車門把手。為了減少風阻，門把手可自動隱藏。他觸碰駕駛員側邊手柄，想讓把手伸出，結果沒有反應。他咧嘴一笑道：“好吧，失靈了。”他又試了一遍，車門把手終于緩緩伸出來。

????不過，這或許只是特斯拉在中國面臨的最微不足道的問題。（財富中文網）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????The salesman in Tesla's only showroom in Chinese mainland (or what the company likes to call "experience center") says the rich people who travel from all over the country to see the gleaming Model S react the same way when they hear the $118,000 price tag: "Wow."

????As in: Wow! That's cheap.

????This is the opportunity Tesla Motors (TSLA) hopes to capitalize on when its executives say China will become its largest market in just a couple years. It's why the company plans to open stores in a dozen other cities by the end of 2014 and invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the country. In fact, China is the driving force behind Tesla's goal of boosting Model S sales by 56% this year.

????Even with a 25% import fee and value-added taxes pushing the cost to about $118,000 in China, from $71,000 in the U.S., the car isn't considered super-expensive. That's in part because other car brands are subject to the same levies. And so BMW's X5 SUV, for example, costs much more than a Tesla in China despite selling for less than one in the U.S.

????The real promise for Tesla in China is if it can build cars here. Not only would it bypass the hefty import duty, but its customers would become eligible for local governments' electric vehicle tax credits, an incentive not offered for foreign-built autos. In a visit to Beijing last month, Tesla's founder Elon Musk laid out both the promise and potential pitfalls for Tesla when he said the company would seek to manufacture cars in China in three to four years.

????The dream scenario is that Tesla builds cars, everybody buys them, the central government is happy that more people are driving electric, and Tesla is championed for decades.

????But in reality, Musk's ambition will face many hurdles. Foreign companies typically find that building their own stuff in China is never easy. They're forced to partner with a local Chinese company, which often wants to get its hands on the outsider's technology. In a joint venture, political power often trumps controlling stakes. Furthermore, China is a country with deep-seated suspicions of foreigners.

????"Time after time, when foreign companies have come here with huge ambitions and a short timeline in obtaining them, it doesn't work out," says James McGregor, an expert on foreign businesses in China and author of One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China.

????Tesla faces two gigantic hurdles in China. The first is setting up a joint venture with a domestic company to build cars. Tesla's goals will likely be very different from its Chinese partner's. China released a long report in 2006 called "The National Medium- and Long-Term Program for the Development of Science and Technology 2006-2020" that outlines the country's plan to develop "indigenous innovation" and make China a technological powerhouse by 2020. One key way it plans to match Western technology: absorbing and tweaking that same foreign technology.

????As McGregor wrote in a 2010 paper on the report, "The plan is considered by many international technology companies to be a blueprint for technology theft on a scale the world has never seen before."

????You can imagine a scenario where Chinese companies start emulating Tesla's battery innovations and then sell their vehicles for much less than Tesla's sticker price. Tesla would likely have little recourse.

????The second hurdle Tesla faces is building a charging network in China with state-owned power companies. It wasn't an accident that Musk dropped the names of two of China's biggest power companies when he was talking about potential partners. But again, China is unlikely to share Tesla's exact interests in building charging stations. What happens when priority is given to domestic electric automakers? How many hundreds of millions is Tesla willing to risk in China?

????"This is likely to be much much harder, and take a lot longer, than he expects," says McGregor, of Musk. "Does he have the management capacity, the patience, and the capital to handle that? That's a question he should be asking himself."

????It should be no surprise that China is welcoming Tesla with open arms. On his trip to the country, Musk met with top government level officials and local Shanghai politicians—a big reception for a relatively small player in the global automotive scene. The meetings happened in part because China clearly needs electric cars and it's woefully behind its goal of putting 5 million on the road by 2020. In Beijing's latest lottery round for license plates, the number of applicants for electric vehicles didn't even meet the limit while regular gasoline plates were oversubscribed by 90 to 1.

????Tesla is pretty straightforward about the wall of challenges it faces. "As much as everyone is hoping we'd disclose negotiations with governments, potential joint ventures, where we're building supercharging stations, the key thing for us is that we're working on it," says Peggy Yang, Tesla's spokesperson in China. " I don't have very concrete plans to lay down to say by June we'll have this, by July we'll have this."

????It's unfair to focus only on Tesla's challenges. Musk faced almost as many in the U.S. before Tesla came out with its first model, and again before building a charging network. But building goods in China creates unique headaches, even for a company as daring and successful as Tesla.

????Back in the Beijing showroom, the salesperson is explaining the Model S's aerodynamic door handles, which retract to reduce drag. He touches the driver's side handle to extend it. Nothing happens. "Okay, not working," he grins. He tries again and it slides out.

????It may have been the smallest problem Tesla ever faces in China.