Tesla Giga Shanghai in China seems to be ramping up production of Made-in-China Model 3 to a new high to support the company's goal to produce 500,000 cars in 2020.

At least that is what one might think seeing the latest video report from WU WA channel (as of October 15, 2020). There are hundreds of MIC cars parked in the parking lot, ready for delivery.

That's a big change compared to an almost empty space just a week earlier. Well, Tesla has goals, and there is demand to fulfill so we do not expect anything other than this:

Tesla Gigafactory 3 - October 15, 2020 (source: WU WA)
Tesla Gigafactory 3 - October 15, 2020 (source: WU WA)

The cars are delivered to customers at delivery centers, like this one in Waigaoqiao, Pudong, Shanghai (70 km / 44 miles away from the plant):

A new thing at the factory is a new Tesla Supercharging station, reportedly the world's largest with some 64 individual stalls (four strings, 16 each).

It's not clear whether those are all V3, but for sure the total power must be huge.

Giga Shanghai might be actually the world's most dense place for Supercharging, as there is a 40-stall station on the other side too. That would give a total of 100+.

Tesla Gigafactory 3 - October 15, 2020 (source: WU WA)
Tesla Gigafactory 3 - October 15, 2020 (source: WU WA)

According to Moneyball, the production of the entry-level MIC Model 3 with LFP batteries, supplied by CATL, already started. The pack is reportedly 55 kWh, while the energy density of the cells is 170 Wh/kg.

Model 3 with those batteries can go 468 km (291 miles) under NEDC test cycle (expect far less in the real-world).

 

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).
  • The production was resumed on February 10, 2020, after an extended break, caused by the fight with coronavirus
  • In the first half of April 2020, Tesla made the Long Range version of the MIC Model 3 available for order
  • In June 2020, Tesla made the MIC Model Y available for order
  • As of the end of the June 2020, some 50,000 Model 3 were produced cumulatively
  • From mid-2020 Tesla is probably able to produce 4,000 units a week (200,000 a year)

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