As the unofficial and later also official news hinted, Tesla resumed work at the Tesla Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai after an extended break, caused by the fight with coronavirus.

According to the Tesmanian, Tesla is one of the first companies in China to resume production, but not without additional epidemic prevention measures:

"Epidemic prevention measures have been significantly improved around the factory, and a large amount of security was maintained at the gate of the Shanghai factory to maintain order.

Once the non-Tesla employee's vehicle is parked at the gate of the Gigafactory Shanghai area, relevant security will conduct interrogation and dismissal.

Work and parking permit are required to be checked before entering. Before officially entering the factory area, everyone needs to go through another inspection."

The Tesla Gigafactory is expected to produce a four-digit number of Model 3 per week (up to 3,000 at some point in 2020), which makes it a very important addition to the main factory in California.

Tesla Gigafactory 3 facts:

  • location: Shanghai, China
  • wholly-owned subsidiary (not joint venture)
  • expected total investment: about $2 billion
  • construction was started in January 2019
  • purpose: production of affordable versions of Model 3/Model Y for greater China region (higher cost versions of 3/Y and all S/X to be produced in the U.S.)
  • battery packs will be assembled using lithium-ion cells from various suppliers, including Panasonic
  • expected volume: 150,000 per year in the first phase and 500,000 per year in the future
  • Targets: production of cars (between 1,000 to 2,000 per week by the end of 2019) to start in the second-half of 2019 (volume production, of 3,000 cars per week initially, from 2020),
  • First customer deliveries of Made-in-China (MIC) Model 3 happened on December 30, 2019
  • Elon Musk officially announced Model Y program at Gigafactory 3 on January 7, 2020
  • Tesla was able to achieve a production rate of about 280 cars a day (10-hour shift) or almost 2,000 a week in December 2019. The production capacity was up to 3,000 cars per week. Production of battery packs started in December 2019 (but at the time not yet at the rate of car production).

Source: tesmanian.com, Reuters

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