Shanghai will host Tesla’s first car plant outside the US, official says
The Chinese ‘Gigafactory’ will produce both automobiles and batteries, a top company official said
Tesla’s next Gigafactory, a combination car and battery-making plant, will be built near Shanghai, a top official said during the company’s shareholder meeting on Tuesday in northern California. It will be Tesla’s first car plant outside the United States.
“The cars we’ll be building in that factory will be incredible,” said Robin Ren, Tesla’s worldwide head of sales, before declining to offer any more details because the official announcement is still a few weeks away. Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared to surprise Ren when he asked him to discuss the news.
Musk then added that he still saw a future with 10 to 12 Gigafactories. At present, Tesla makes cars south of San Francisco in Fremont and has its lone Tesla Gigafactory, which makes only batteries, outside Reno, Nevada.
He also hinted at a third: “Europe maybe by the end of the year; we just need to figure out where to put it.”
A restrained Musk told shareholders that delays on the company’s critical Model 3 sedan were both regrettable but explainable.