Tesla To Break Ground for Shanghai Gigafactory Today!

Tesla is set to hold the groundbreaking ceremony today for its first non-U.S. factory in Shanghai, according to CEO Elon Musk.

“Looking forward to breaking ground on the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory today!” Musk tweeted Monday morning Beijing time.

He added in subsequent tweets that the factory will produce Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for the Greater China region, and that the plan is to “finish initial construction this summer, start Model 3 production end of year & reach high volume production next year.”

Tesla acquired an 864,885-square meter plot of land in Shanghai’s Lingang area for about $140 million in October. The luxury vehicle brand is popular in China but faces rising competition from local electric automakers such as Nio.

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Producing vehicles in China would reduce costs from tariffs and ocean transport for Tesla.

Tesla’s new factory is expected to begin partial production in the second half of this year, according to a government report. The company has set up official accounts on popular Chinese messaging and social media platforms WeChat and Weibo, which list more than 30 openings for positions at the Shanghai factory.

Tesla is producing 1000 vehicles/day

In an Jan 2 report, the American electric carmaker said it is producing and delivering nearly 1000 vehicles per day, setting a new company record for both. The company has also announced reducing the price of Model S, X and Model 3 vehicles by $2000 in the US. Combined with the reduced costs of maintenance and of charging a Tesla versus paying for gas at the pump – which can result in up to $100 per month or more in savings – this means our vehicles are even more affordable than similarly priced gasoline vehicles.

Tesla has sold over 90,000 vehicles globally in the last quarter or Q4 of the calendar year 2018 and has witnessed a Quarter-on-Quarter growth of 8%. Tesla was already at its all-time high in the third quarter and had dispatched 63,150 units of Model 3, 13,500 units of Model S and 14,050 units of Model X. After outperforming other premium carmakers in the US, Tesla is inching closer to the German rivals- Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

In 2018, Tesla sold over 245,000 units which constitute of 145,846 units of the Model 3 and 99,394 units of Model S and Model X. The Model 3 is the most affordable Tesla and the company has been witnessing strong demand for it not only in America but also in the global market which is also the reason why Tesla has been trying to increase the production of the Models 3 elsewhere.

Picture Credit: Twitter