Tesla Giga Shanghai will add another shift to improve its production output: report

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla is reportedly looking to ramp Gigafactory Shanghai’s vehicle production output from May 16. The company would be accomplishing this goal by adding another shift at the China-based electric car plant. 

Since resuming vehicle production last month, Tesla Giga Shanghai has been operating with only one shift. According to an internal memo from the company, the addition of a second shift should increase the facility’s output to around 2,600 electric vehicles per day. 

The contents of the memo were shared by Reuters, which noted that it had seen the communication from the EV maker. With the second shift added, the publication estimated that Giga Shanghai could reach an output of 16,900 vehicles per week. This is already quite close to Giga Shanghai’s output prior to Shanghai’s Covid lockdowns in late March. 

Tesla China has not issued a comment on the matter. 

Before China’s stringent Covid lockdowns, Gigafactory Shanghai had been operating with three shifts. It took 22 days before the plant resumed production, the longest halt in Giga Shanghai’s history since it started operations in late 2019. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimated that Tesla lost about 50,000 units’ worth of production due to Giga Shanghai’s shutdown. 

Gigafactory Shanghai is Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, providing Model 3 and Model Y units to territories such as Europe and other countries in Asia. Last year, the facility accounted for roughly half of the vehicles that Tesla produced and delivered. Despite the adverse effects of the recent lockdowns on the facility, however, Elon Musk noted in Tesla’s Q1 2022 earnings call that he remains optimistic about Tesla’s China-based EV plant

“Giga Shanghai is coming back with a vengeance. So, I think notwithstanding new issues that arise, I think we will see record output per week from Giga Shanghai this quarter, albeit we are missing a couple of weeks,” Musk said. 

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

Simon Alvarez: Simon is a 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.
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