Tesla Shanghai: Built In 10 Months & Ahead Of Schedule

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Image courtesy Tesla.

The Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory was built in a total of 10 months, despite the “impossibility” of such that many critics, skeptics, and short sellers have claimed. In a report released by Tesla just before the start of the Q3 earnings call, we quickly learned a few things that shake up our view of “Elon time.”

Gigafactory Shanghai is ahead of schedule and is ready for production. It was also 65% less expensive to build than the Model 3 production system in the United States. Tesla is growing quickly yet also saving on costs along the way, something many presume will help it to continue to be profitable in the future.

Tesla Shanghai

Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai is one of its strongest assets and will help the company to increase its growth. As Tesla continues to flourish, it also improves — especially its pace of execution and capital efficiency of new production lines.

“We are moving faster than initially planned, using learnings and efficiencies gained from our Gigafactory Shanghai factory design” —Tesla, Q2 3019 Update.

Tesla is already in trial production mode at Gigafactory Shanghai. It’s producing full vehicles, from the body, to paint and also general assembly. Tesla has cleared initial milestones in regards to its manufacturing license, and soon that license will be finalized as Tesla meets other governmental requirements, which is needed before Tesla can ramp up production and delivery of made-in-China Model 3s.

“China is by far the largest market for mid-sized premium sedans. With Model 3 priced on par with gasoline powered mid-sized  (even before gas savings and other benefits), we believe China could become the biggest market for Model 3”– Tesla, Q2 3019 Update.

In another article on CleanTechnica, I used an airplane analogy when it comes to Tesla. An airplane doesn’t just jump up into the sky — there’s a lot of work to get it there. It’s the same thing with Tesla. Many critics and skeptics have used Tesla’s past as a reason that it “will fail” and claim that all these years of not being profitable (pumping money into more and faster growth instead) is a “proof” of their arguments being true.

Tesla is the airplane. It’s already rolling down the runway at top speeds and the Shanghai Gigafactory will be that point were Tesla moves from the ground into the sky: China will launch Tesla’s sales into even higher numbers that will be followed by sales of the Model Y, the Semi, the new Roadster, and the Pickup in the next couple of years. China is Tesla’s momentum that will help it to become more stable in worldwide markets — especially since it has the full support of the Chinese government.

Tesla is a symbol of the future, of going green and being sustainable. As more and more people become Tesla owners worldwide, it will be clear and easy to see that Tesla is the leader when it comes to electric vehicles, energy, and technology. I believe that Chinese sales of Model 3s made in China will be a gamechanger as Tesla moves into the next decade and that our descendants will be looking back at this time period as they reflect on history.


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Johnna Crider

Johnna owns less than one share of $TSLA currently and supports Tesla's mission. She also gardens, collects interesting minerals and can be found on TikTok

Johnna Crider has 1996 posts and counting. See all posts by Johnna Crider