Connect with us
tesla-giga-shanghai-aerial tesla-giga-shanghai-aerial

News

Tesla China pauses Giga Shanghai production: report

Image Credit: Tesla Inc.

Published

on

Tesla reportedly suspended production at its Shanghai plant on Saturday. The update was reportedly from an internal notice and two sources familiar with the matter. 

The month of December has been a hotly-contested period for Gigafactory Shanghai. Earlier this month, reports from mainstream media outlets such as Bloomberg News and Reuters suggested that Tesla was significantly reducing its vehicle production this month. In following reports, the latter argued that Giga Shanghai would pause vehicle production in the final month of December. 

Tesla China issued a rebuttal of the reports, but the EV maker’s response was quite vague, with the company simply stating that the reports were “untrue.”

Citing an internal notice and two sources who were reportedly familiar with the matter, Reuters recently claimed that Tesla had canceled the morning shift in Giga Shanghai. The EV maker reportedly informed all workers at the plant that they could begin their break as well. The company did not provide a reason for this action, according to the publication. 

The reported suspension of vehicle production at Tesla’s Shanghai plant comes amid a recent increase in Covid-19 cases in China, which has disrupted business operations in the country. This increase in Covid-19 cases followed China’s decision to ease its zero-Covid policy earlier this month. 

Advertisement

Interestingly enough, one of Reuters’ sources claimed that workers at Tesla and its suppliers have also been falling ill as part of the recent Covid-19 wave. Tesla China has reportedly been producing vehicles for exports in the past week as well. Apart from this, Tesla is also reportedly facing high inventory levels as China’s general auto segment prepares for a potential downturn. 

During the last week of December 2021, Gigafactory Shanghai, which has become Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub and its most productive plant, maintained normal operations.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

News

“Worthy of respect:” Six-seat Model Y L acknowledged by Tesla China’s biggest rivals

Tesla China’s biggest competitors seem to be welcoming the impending arrival of the upcoming six-seater.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Asia/X

Tesla’s upcoming launch of the Model Y L in China has drawn praise from the CEOs of rival automakers Nio and Li Auto. While the upcoming extended all-electric crossover has the potential to make a huge impact in the domestic Chinese auto market, some of Tesla China’s biggest competitors seem to be welcoming the impending arrival of the upcoming six-seater.

NIO and Li Auto CEO react

Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li responded to Tesla’s announcement on Weibo, stating that with improvements in charging, battery swap infrastructure, and continued innovation in technology and product design, the era of large-space electrified SUVs has fully arrived. He referenced Nio’s sub-brand Onvo and its new L90 SUV as a product born from this shift in the market and encouraged the industry to “power up together,” as noted in a report from CNEV Post.

Li Auto CEO Li Xiang also weighed in, calling the Model Y L a “six-seat pure electric SUV worthy of respect.” He also suggested that consumers interested in vehicles priced between RMB 200,000 and RMB 300,000 should keep an eye on it. He also mentioned his company’s upcoming Li i6, a five-seat all-electric SUV that’s expected to debut in September, as a strong option for buyers not seeking third row seats.

New Model Y L

Tesla confirmed on its official Weibo account that the Model Y L will officially launch in China this fall. The vehicle appeared in China’s MIIT regulatory catalog, which revealed that the Model Y L will feature a longer body and extended wheelbase designed to accommodate its new three-row layout. 

The Model Y L measures 4,976 mm in length with a wheelbase of 3,040 mm, compared to the standard five-seat Model Y’s 4,797 mm length and 2,890 mm wheelbase. While Tesla has yet to announce official pricing, industry reports suggest it could be positioned around RMB 400,000. It remains to be seen if the Model Y L will also be produced in the United States and Germany. 

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk reveals SpaceX’s target for Starship’s 10th launch

Elon Musk has revealed SpaceX’s target timeline for the next Starship launch, which will be the tenth in program history.

Published

on

Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk has revealed SpaceX’s target timeline for the next Starship launch, which will be the tenth in program history.

Musk says SpaceX is aiming for a timeline of roughly three weeks from now, which would come about ten weeks after the previous launch.

Coincidentally, it would bring the two launches 69 days apart, and if you know anything about Elon Musk, that would be an ideal timeline between two launches.

SpaceX is coming off a test flight in which it lost both the Super Heavy Booster and the Upper Stage in the previous launch. The Super Heavy Booster was lost six minutes and sixteen seconds into the flight, while SpaceX lost communication with the Ship at 46 minutes and 48 seconds.

Musk is aiming for the tenth test flight to take place in early August, he revealed on X:

This will be SpaceX’s fourth test flight of the Starship program in 2025, with each of the previous three flights bringing varying results.

IFT-7 in January brought SpaceX its second successful catch of the Super Heavy Booster in the chopstick arms of the launch tower. The ship was lost after exploding during its ascent over the Turks and Caicos Islands.

IFT-8 was on March 6, and SpaceX caught the booster once again, but the Upper Stage was once again lost.

The most recent flight, IFT-9, took place on May 27 and featured the first reused Super Heavy Booster. However, both the Booster and Upper Stage were lost.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hit SpaceX with a mishap investigation for Flight 9 on May 30.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk confirms Tesla is already rolling out a new feature for in-car Grok

Tesla is already making in-car Grok more robust with a simple but effective feature that CEO Elon Musk says is “coming.”

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company will roll out a new feature for in-car Grok as it is rolling out to vehicles for the first time.

Grok was just recently added as a feature to Tesla vehicles within the past week, but owners are already requesting some small changes to make it more convenient to use.

Tesla debuts hands-free Grok AI with update 2025.26: What you need to know

The first is already on the way, Musk confirmed, as WholeMarsBlog requested a simple, but useful feature for Grok as it is used within Tesla vehicles.

Whole Mars requested that “Hey Grok” be used as a wake word, automatically activating the AI assistant without having to touch any buttons. Musk confirmed it is already in development and on the way to vehicles:

This feature is incredibly similar to that of “Hey Siri” with iPhones and other iOS devices. The phone will recognize your voice and hear that prompt, automatically activating Siri. Apple’s assistant will then perform whatever task it is asked to perform. It’s a simple but effective performance feature.

Grok is already getting its first reviews from owners as it rolls out to owners for the first time. It is a long time coming, too. Tesla has been hinting that Grok would be enabled in the vehicles for a while now, and it just started its initial rollout last week.

Grok is available in vehicles with the AMD chip and requires Premium Connectivity or a WiFi connection to use.

Continue Reading

Trending