Tesla China Produces 3 Millionth Vehicle, Almost 50% Of Model 3 + Y Total

Tesla has shared on social media that Tesla China has produced its 3 millionth car. That’s quite an accomplishment for Tesla’s second car factory. It also reveals just how much of Tesla’s business is reliant on Chinese production. It’s a useful time to receive this update, as I also just recently reported that Tesla passed 6 million cumulative Model 3 and Model Y sales in the 3rd quarter.

More specifically, cumulative sales of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y reached 6,021,007 units at the end of September. With the 3-million-unit milestone in China passed just a short time later, we can see that China has produced nearly 50% of the Model 3 and Model Y electric cars ever produced.

The rate of production growth in China might be faster than in the US and Europe combined. We’ll have to see if the Chinese factory reaches 4 million vehicles produced before cumulative sales of the Model 3 and Model Y reach 8 million.

When Tesla Vice President Grace Tao shared the news on Weibo a few days ago, she also noted that the company had gone from 2 million to 3 million vehicles produced in China much faster than it had gone from 0 (zero) to 1 million. “Today we released the Robotaxi driverless taxi, and here is another good news to share with you: Today, the Shanghai Super Factory ushered in a new milestone — the 3 millionth vehicle rolled off the production line,” she noted. “It took Tesla Shanghai Super Factory 32 months to go from 0 to 1 million vehicles; it took only 13 months to go from 2 million to 3 million vehicles. Each car is a small step, and 3 million is a big leap,” the Tesla executive wrote in her post on Weibo.

The company doesn’t produce cars just for China in China. “It is also Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, having exported 1 million vehicles as of late September 2024 to Europe, Asia, and in countries such as Australia and New Zealand,” Teslarati adds.

It’s all great, amazing progress. And some people claimed that the site of the Shanghai Tesla factory would never be more than a mud field. How times have changed!