Thousands of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y spotted ready for export in Shanghai

Tesla China seems determined to maintain the momentum it built up in 2021, with Giga Shanghai exporting its first batch of vehicles for Q1 2022 before January ended. Videos taken at the Luchao Port in Shanghai revealed a massive fleet of Teslas ready to be exported to other countries. 

Aerial footage captured by drone operator Wu Wa revealed that Tesla China has been gathering Model 3s and Model Ys at the Luchao Port in Shanghai. A rough count of the vehicles sighted in the flyover suggests that there are thousands of Model 3 and Model Y at the location. The video also featured Teslas being loaded onto the SLF Composer, a vehicle carrier ship that departed Luchao Port over the weekend. 

The number of Teslas exported from Giga Shanghai is very impressive, hinting at the healthy demand for the two premium all-electric vehicles in other countries. The demand for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles is outstanding, considering both cars are still priced as premium vehicles. Both Tesla cars are also more expensive than some of their rivals in the mainstream auto market. 

Since Giga Shanghai focuses on shipping vehicles in the first half of a quarter, it would not be surprising if Luchao Port is filled with the company’s electric cars for a few more weeks. Elon Musk has mentioned in the past that Tesla China tends to focus on exports in the first half of the quarter before focusing its output on the domestic Chinese market in the latter half. 

Giga Shanghai’s role as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub would likely continue in the near future. Even with Giga Berlin going live this year, Giga Shanghai will probably continue to support Europe’s demand for Teslas. It will take time for Giga Berlin to fully ramp the domestic production of the Model Y. Even with Berlin pumping out vehicles, territories such as South Korea, Japan, and Australia, as well as future markets like India and the Philippines, would likely still get their supply of Teslas from Giga Shanghai. 

Watch a video of Tesla’s exports at the Luchao Port in Shanghai below.