(Yicai Global) Dec. 27 -- Tesla's stock price jumped to the highest ever after the US electric carmaker said that it will borrow up to CNY9 billion (USD1.3 billion) from Chinese banks to spur production at its first overseas factory in Shanghai.

Tesla [NASDAQ:TSLA] climbed 1.34 percent to close at USD430.94 yesterday, lifting its market cap to USD77.7 billion. The stock price has now more than doubled from a 52-week low of USD176.99.

Tesla has penned secured term loan facility agreements with four state-owned banks by pledging its Shanghai assets, the California-based company said in a regulatory filing yesterday. It has also agreed on an unsecured revolving loan facility worth up to CNY2.25 billion.

The four lenders are China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, as well as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Part of the proceeds will be used to repay CNY3.5 billion in debt due next March, and the rest will go to support the company's China operations, the statement added.

Tesla's China-made Model 3 sedans will also be exempt from a 10 percent Chinese vehicle purchase tax, according to a list published on the industry ministry's website today. That will make them cheaper to buy. The company has previously said the vehicles would be priced from about USD50,000 each.

The first locally produced Model 3s rolled off the Shanghai assembly line last month, less than a year after breaking ground in the Lin-gang area of the city, which was this year added to the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. Making cars in the country, the world's biggest electric vehicle market, will enable Tesla to sidestep import tariffs.

Editor: Emmi Laine