Tesla says cuts price for Model X, S in China

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tesla Inc is cutting the price of its Model X and Model S cars in China by between 12-26 percent, the U.S. electric carmaker told Reuters on Thursday.

The move comes amid rising trade tensions between China and the United States, which has seen extra tariffs slapped on U.S. imports into the country, including automobiles.

"We are absorbing a significant part of the tariff to help make our cars more affordable for customers in China," Tesla said in a statement.

The firm, which recently launched pre-sales of its new Model 3 car in China, said the car's pricetag would start from 540,000 yuan ($77,928.83) for a dual motor all-wheel drive version, and 595,000 yuan for a performance version.

($1 = 6.9294 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Adam Jourdan; editing by Darren Schuettler)