Investor's Corner
Tesla Gigafactory 3 passes major inspection amid V10’s introduction in China
Recent reports from local Chinese media have revealed that Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 complex has achieved yet another milestone. After a series of inspections on Gigafactory 3’s Phase 1 construction zone, officials have granted a ” comprehensive acceptance” of the site, paving the way for the start of Model 3 production operations in the near future.
Officials from the Lingang District Construction Project Management Service Center’s organized planning, construction, fire protection, lightning protection, archives, and other professional inspection departments conducted a meeting about their respective evaluations of the Gigafactory 3 Phase 1 site on September 12. Zhu Xiaolu, Vice President of Tesla Global and President of Greater China, was in attendance during the meeting.Â
As noted by local news agency Beijing News Finance, each of Gigafactory 3’s professional lines was extensively evaluated by the officials, together with the materials used by Tesla’s construction partner for the site. Each of Gigafactory 3’s lines in the Phase 1 zone was able to gain approval from the inspectors.Â
The newly granted comprehensive acceptance for Gigafactory 3’s Phase 1 construction stands as yet another indication that initial operations in the massive Shanghai-based site are about to begin. With inspections for the Phase 1 area completed, Tesla could start trial production runs of the Model 3 as soon as facilities such as the southwest substation are ready for activation.Â
Amidst the newly granted comprehensive acceptance of Gigafactory 3’s Phase 1 buildout, Tesla has also started rolling out its V10 Update to members of China’s Early Access Program. Social media posts from the local Tesla community indicate that V10 is full of fun, new features that include curated local applications geared towards the Chinese market, including popular video streaming platforms IQiyi and Tencent Video.Â
Tesla’s announcement of its V10 release in China was a bit more formal than its low-key release to members of the Early Access Program in the United States. Promotional images for V10, for example, featured a dedicated teaser for the new Tesla Theater function and its support for local streaming services. Based on social media reports from the local Tesla community, the V10 Update appears to be well appreciated. Images of V10’s updated visuals, for one, were described as a pleasant gift from the electric car maker just as the country is celebrating its Mid-Autumn Festival.Â
The success of Tesla’s push into the lucrative Chinese EV market will likely be determined by the company’s capability to effectively roll out the made-in-China Model 3 and Model Y from Gigafactory 3. The Shanghai-based site is designed to exclusively produce affordable versions of the Model 3 and the Model Y for the Chinese market. Thus, the facility is optimized for volume electric vehicle production, with an output that is appropriate for the country’s large auto market.
Tesla has implemented a number of optimizations to accomplish these goals. Unlike its electric car production process in the United States, which involves vehicle assembly being performed at the Fremont factory and battery and drive unit production being conducted in Gigafactory 1 at Nevada, the Shanghai Gigafactory 3 will produce batteries and drive units, and perform vehicle assembly in one site. This is expected to significantly improve Tesla’s manufacturing process, allowing the company to avoid most of the challenges it faced in its initial Model 3 ramp in the United States.
Investor's Corner
Tesla just did something in South Korea that no foreign carmaker has ever done
Tesla’s Model Y just became South Korea’s best-selling car, beating every domestic model in May.
Tesla did something last month that no foreign car has ever done in South Korea by outselling every vehicle in the country, domestic or imported, finishing the month with Model Y as the single best-selling car across the entire Korean market. According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association released on June 4, the Model Y recorded 8,762 units sold in May, pushing the Kia Sorento into second place at 7,836 units and the Hyundai Grandeur into third at 5,183 units. It is the first time an imported vehicle has outsold every domestic model on a single-month basis.
Tesla imported 10,866 cars into South Korea in May, making it the top import brand for the fourth consecutive month. BMW followed at 6,555 units, less than two-thirds of Tesla’s total, while BYD registered just 1,032 units. The combined domestic sales of GM Korea, Renault Korea, and KG Mobility last month totaled just 7,019 units, meaning a single Tesla model outsold three Korean automakers combined.
Tesla FSD earns high praise in South Korea’s real-world autonomous driving test
South Korea has historically been one of the hardest markets for foreign automakers to crack. Hyundai and Kia together control close to 70% of the overall market and carry deep consumer loyalty built over decades. Tesla’s path into this market was an uphill battle due to high import duties, limited service infrastructure, and early skepticism about charging networks. In 2024, the Model Y was the best-selling imported car in South Korea with 18,717 units for the full year. By 2025, after the Juniper refresh, it cleared 50,000 units and took the top spot among all EVs.
Year to date, Tesla has a 250.8% increase in the country over the same period last year, and now holds a 30.8% share of the entire imported car segment for 2026. EVs as a category represented 48.6% of all imported passenger car registrations in May. As Teslarati has reported, the Juniper refresh brought meaningful improvements to range, interior quality, and ride refinement that addressed the most common criticisms of earlier Model Y versions. Those upgrades appear to be resonating in markets like South Korea where buyers compare Tesla directly against high end domestic competitors.
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) stands to reap one of the most extraordinary returns in pension fund history thanks to a bold 2019 investment in SpaceX.
According to a recent report from The Globe and Mail, the Toronto-based fund invested roughly $300 million CAD (~$220 million USD at the time) in Elon Musk’s space company as its inaugural deal through the Teachers’ Innovation Platform.
At SpaceX’s anticipated $1.75 trillion IPO valuation, set for a mid-June debut on Nasdaq under ticker $SPCX, that stake could now be worth up to $11.6 billion USD. This would represent a roughly 50x return and easily become OTPP’s most successful single investment ever.
The fund manages $279 billion in assets for approximately 346,000 working and retired teachers in Ontario, potentially delivering an average boost of around $33,500 per member if fully realized.
SpaceX has filed its S-1 and plans to price shares at $135 each, aiming to raise a record $75 billion in what would be the largest IPO in history, surpassing Saudi Aramco. The company reported $18.67 billion in revenue for 2025, driven primarily by Starlink satellite internet growth and NASA contracts, though it continues to post significant losses tied to ambitious R&D in Starship and AI initiatives.
Important pieces moving forward include:
- Starlink Expansion: The satellite broadband service is scaling rapidly, targeting global connectivity, especially in underserved rural and remote areas. This segment offers massive recurring revenue potential as numbers climb.
- Starship and Reusability Leadership: SpaceX’s fully reusable Starship aims to slash launch costs dramatically, enabling frequent missions, Mars ambitions, and lucrative government/defense contracts. Success here could unlock exponential growth.
- AI and Diversification: Recent moves, including ties to xAI, position SpaceX in high-growth AI infrastructure, broadening beyond traditional aerospace.
- Validation Scrutiny: While the $1.75 trillion target excites investors, analysts like Morningstar value the company closer to $780 billion, citing high multiples (around 90x trailing revenue) and execution risks. A 180-day lockup period will prevent early investors like OTPP from selling immediately post-IPO.
The irony has not been lost on observers. Ontario’s government previously canceled a Starlink rural internet contract amid political tensions involving Musk, yet the pension fund’s savvy investment, made when SpaceX was valued around $33-36 billion, and Starlink was nascent, delivers outsized gains independent of politics.
For OTPP, this windfall strengthens its already solid 111 percent funding ratio and underscores the value of patient, innovation-focused capital allocation.
For SpaceX, the IPO marks a new chapter: greater transparency, access to public markets for talent retention and growth capital, and heightened pressure to deliver on its multi-planetary vision.
All eyes are fixed on whether SpaceX can justify its lofty valuation through sustained execution. For Ontario teachers, the returns are already stellar, but SpaceX, like other Musk companies in the past, has plenty of things to prove. Perhaps the most ideal person for the job is at the helm, hoping to bring the company to a massive valuation.
Tesla has its answer to grow its automotive sales over the next few years, TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli says, but it just has to bring it to the U.S.
On Thursday, Michaeli reiterated his $490 price target and the ‘Buy’ rating he already held on Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA). However, its automotive division has struggled to show sequential growth over the past few years, mostly due to its focus on AI and Full Self-Driving. Tesla already axed two of its lower-volume vehicles with the Model S and Model X earlier this year.
However, Tesla does not need to engineer an entire new vehicle to trigger an upward tick in sales; it just has to bring it from China to the U.S., Michaeli said.
He is talking about the Model Y L, a slightly larger version of the all-electric crossover that is already available in China. U.S. customers have been pleading with CEO Elon Musk to bring it to the country since its launch in Asia last year, but he’s not convinced of it because of the advent of self-driving and its importance in this particular market.
The problem is that Tesla owners have been requesting something larger that could fit a typical American family. The Model Y L is slightly larger than the standard Model Y, but some are concerned that it could still be too small to fit what most people might need.
Instead, they have asked for a full-size SUV from Tesla.
Tesla gives big hint that it will build Cyber SUV, smaller Cybertruck
Nevertheless, the Model Y L still presents a great opportunity for Tesla in the U.S., and Michaeli says that there is an additional sales opportunity of about 100,000 units, with demand potential falling somewhere between 60,000 and 135,000 units.
TD Cowen’s note to investors also analyzed that Tesla’s growth could come from a stock perspective as well, positively impacting the stock price, as it has been widely reliant on vehicle sales, even though Tesla has truly phased itself away from that being an important metric.
Tesla stands to gain greatly from the introduction of the Model Y L in the U.S., but only if Elon Musk sees it as a viable fit for the market. Families may need to see Tesla bring something larger to the U.S., or they might be forced to buy from another automaker that offers something that fits is needs for more interior space to haul around the kids.
Tesla tipped its hand at where Robotaxi is heading next
Tesla just did something in South Korea that no foreign carmaker has ever done
