Tesla is planning to restart the construction of the third phase of its automobile factory in Shanghai, according to Late Auto. People close to the matter said that Tesla began preparing for the construction of the third phase of the vehicle factory and forming a team in 2021, but suspended its actions in the middle of last year. At that time, most of the people Tesla recruited for the Phase III factory had been transferred to other departments.
Tesla disclosed in April this year that it would build an energy storage super factory with an annual output of 40 GWh in Shanghai. Construction is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2023 and put into production in the second quarter of 2024. The factory initially plans to produce commercial energy storage annually. The battery capacity can reach 10,000 units. However, Tesla did not mention the expansion of its automobile factory at that time, and it is unclear the connection between the Shanghai Phase III factory project and the energy storage super factory.
In addition, the energy storage battery products that Tesla will start producing in Shanghai next year will be sold in China. Currently, the Shanghai factory energy storage project has recruited a R&D person in charge and is currently recruiting a sales person in charge.
Elon Musk previewed a next-generation new car in 2020 that would cost $25,000 (approximately 150,000 RMB at the time). Industry insiders speculate that if it can be successfully implemented, the future production focus of the Shanghai Phase III plant may be this model.
It is noted that at the third quarter financial report meeting in 2022, Elon Musk revealed that “the size of the next generation model will be smaller than the Model 3 currently on sale, and the cost will be half of the existing platform.”
