North American automaker Tesla began construction of its mega factory in Shanghai this Thursday, to manufacture its energy storage batteries known as Megapacks, a project praised as a “milestone” by the North American automaker.
The latest move highlights Tesla’s commitment to investing in the world’s second-largest economy, challenging the China “decoupling” and “de-risking” rhetoric promoted by some US politicians.
The new factory occupies an area of approximately 200,000 square meters, with a total investment of around 1.45 billion yuan (R$1.03 billion), according to the administration of the Lin-gang Special Area of the Pilot Zone China’s Free Trade Agreement.
The megafactory is the first of its kind built by Tesla outside the United States and the company’s second factory in Shanghai, following the opening of its gigafactory in 2019, which involved an initial investment of more than 50 billion yuan.
“I believe the new factory is a milestone for both Shanghai and Tesla,” Tao Lin, vice president of the company, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. “In a more open environment, we can create a new ‘Tesla speed’ at the Megapack factory and supply the global market with large-scale energy storage batteries made in China,” she added.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Tesla representatives and local government officials formally began construction of the Megapack factory, which is expected to begin mass production in the first quarter of 2025, with an initial capacity of 10,000 Megapack units per year.
“With Tesla’s landmark project, we predict that in the next three to five years, an industrial cluster centered on energy storage will quickly emerge,” said Lu Yu, who works at the Lin-gang Special Area Administration.
Source: https://www.chinahoje.net/tesla-inicia-construcao-de-fabrica-de-baterias-em-xangai/
