Is Tesla Giga Shanghai Approaching 1 Million/Year Production Rate?

The Tesla Giga Shanghai plant in China noted an amazing year, producing more than 470,000 electric cars (more than half of Tesla's total in 2021), including over 70,000 in December.

The rate of production is unheard of in the EV world, as 70,847 units in a month would be theoretically roughly 850,000 cars per year. Only time will tell whether the manufacturer will be able to maintain such a volume.

No other plant produces so many electric cars, which would require a rate faster than 38 seconds per car (24/7). In December, we saw videos that were indicating that such a rate is possible.

In the latest flyover videos, shared by Wu Wa, it appears that the company is able - at least at peak - to produce electric cars even faster.

According to the 10-minute video, attached above, on January 14, 2022, about 18 Tesla Model Y were ready to go, which would be one car in less than 34 seconds.

"This time the MODEL Y shipped eighteen units in ten minutes, I don't know if that's right, it seems to have increased compared to the previous two weeks?"

If the plant would be able to maintain such a rate over a period of 30-days, it would result in 76,000 cars.

Separately, an additional 10-minute video from the Tesla Model 3 facility shows 11 cars leaving the building. That's one per 55 seconds on average. On a monthly basis, it would be 47,000.

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"In 10 minutes, I saw 11 Model 3s leave the factory door, how many did you see?"

It's obvious that the measure of short periods and combined result of two production lines is not a scientific measure, but we guess that Tesla's Chinese factory might achieve 1 million cars per year in not too distant future.

The new videos from the site, shared by Jason Yang and Wu Wa, reveal also that preparations for the construction of the third stage of the Tesla Giga Shanghai are underway.

The plot is probably big enough to at least double the footprint of the existing site.

It means two things. First, Tesla does not really need to announce another Gigafactory, as all three plants - in China, in Germany and in Texas - have enough space to significantly expand.

And the second thing. The third stage of expansion suggests that maybe a new electric car model will be introduced.

See also

Report: Tesla Cybertruck Production Delayed Until Early 2023

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