Tesla’s upcoming Made-in-China Model 3 delivery event in Shanghai seems to have a surprise in store, after an image leaked online revealed surprising hints related to the Model Y. As it turns out, Tesla may be starting its Model Y program at Gigafactory 3 starting January 7, 2020, far earlier than what even the company’s staunchest enthusiasts expected.
Electric vehicle enthusiast and Chinese resident Yan Chang (@cyfoxcat) shared the picture of the poster on Twitter. Chang was one of the first people who had the opportunity to drive the Made-in-China Model 3 in November 2019.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly on his way to China for the event that will unveil the second batch of Made-in-China Model 3s. But this time around, it won’t be GF3 employees that will be receiving the vehicles. Instead, the all-electric sedans will be delivered to local customers.
A January 7 starting date for the Model Y program at GF3 is unprecedented as it could potentially lead to the all-electric crossover being ramped in China at roughly the same time as the United States. However, this is certainly not an impossible task considering the build of these two vehicles.
The Model 3 and Model Y share around 75% of the same parts. This would mean the two vehicles would be relatively easy to manufacture side-by-side because of the similarities in parts, especially considering the Model 3 is already being produced at Gigafactory 3.
Tesla began taking orders for the Model Y on its China website just a few days ago on, indicating the company may be ready to begin planning for the production of the crossover at Gigafactory 3 soon.
Gigafactory 3 has already started producing the Model 3 at a run-rate of 3,000 vehicles per week on the heels of a very successful release of Q4 2019 production and delivery numbers. The company successfully handed 92,550 Model 3 vehicles over to customers. This was a majority of the delivery figure as only 19,450 Model S and Model X cars were delivered during the last three months of 2019.
Gigafactory 3 is waking up and could be Tesla’s key to a big 2020. A Wall Street analyst suggested the Shanghai production plant will be the game-changer for Tesla in the new year. It remains to be seen how much success Gigafactory 3 will bring to Tesla, but the plant’s fast production paired up with strong Chinese demand are two key ingredients to a big start to the decade.
“The bull/bear debate will center around ramping production and demand to the 100k/150k level annually in China and how quick this dynamic will ramp,” Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities wrote.