Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 🏭 Tesla China plans to resume Giga Shanghai’s Phase 3 expansion, potentially paving the way for the production of Tesla’s anticipated affordable electric car in China.
- 🌍 Industry insiders speculate that if Giga Shanghai’s Phase 3 ramps up successfully, it could prioritize the production of Tesla’s affordable EV using the next-generation platform.
- 🚗 Tesla’s next-generation platform is crucial for the company’s goal of achieving an annual production of 20 million vehicles by 2030.
- 📈 Giga Shanghai currently stands as Tesla’s most efficient factory, producing a car every 37 seconds, and doubling its annual production capacity to 2 million vehicles is part of the planned Phase 3 expansion.
- 🔧 The next-generation car is expected to bring production efficiencies, making Giga Shanghai a highly competitive production hub for Tesla globally.
- 🚧 Tesla has another significant construction project in China, where it signed a deal to build a Megafactory in Shanghai for producing the Megapack battery, designed for large-scale energy storage.
Tesla China is reportedly planning to resume the construction of Gigafactory Shanghai’s Phase 3 area. The construction could possibly pave the way for Tesla to produce its highly-anticipated affordable, next-generation electric car in China.
Citing sources reportedly familiar with the matter, local Chinese news outlet Late Post noted that Tesla actually started preparations for Giga Shanghai’s Phase 3 expansion in 2021. The company even reportedly assembled a team for the project. The initiative was reportedly put on hold last year, however, with some of the staff that was hired for Phase 3 being reassigned to other departments.
As per Late Post, industry insiders in China have speculated that if Tesla could successfully ramp Giga Shanghai’s Phase 3 area, the location could prioritize the production of the company’s affordable electric car, which would be built on the highly-anticipated next-generation platform. Tesla’s next-generation platform is key to the company’s goal of hitting 20 million vehicles annually in 2030.
Gigafactory Shanghai currently stands as Tesla’s most efficient factory. It only takes 37 seconds for a car to roll off the line at Giga Shanghai, while Gigafactory Texas takes 76 seconds, at least for now. Tesla’s next-generation car, with its expected production efficiencies, would likely hit an output that would be pretty difficult to match elsewhere.
Previous reports have stated that Tesla aimed to double Giga Shanghai’s annual production capacity to 2 million vehicles with the facility’s planned Phase 3 expansion. As per the company’s latest Q3 2023 Update Letter, the Shanghai factory is currently listed with an estimated capacity of over 950,000 vehicles per year. This makes Giga Shanghai Tesla’s largest production hub worldwide by volume.
If the recent reports from China prove accurate, Tesla will soon have two notable construction projects in the country. Earlier this year, Tesla also signed a deal with Shanghai’s Lingang authorities to build a Megafactory in the area. The Megafactory, similar to its sister site in Lathrop, California, would be producing the Megapack battery, Tesla’s flagship energy storage product that’s specifically designed for large-scale use.
