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Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 buildout hits overdrive as China’s workforce mobilizes 24/7

(Photo: ??/YouTube)

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Footage recently taken of Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai’s Lingang Industrial Area has revealed that construction work in the site continues 24/7. The rapid work in Gigafactory 3 has enabled the project to progress quickly, with numerous posts and even roofing being constructed in some areas of the site.

Despite the darkness of the night, Gigafactory 3 was ablaze with activity, with heavy equipment operating on several areas of the 864,885-square meter lot. Numerous workers could be seen working on the first structure under construction, which is widely expected to be a general assembly building. Large trucks also traveled to and from the facility, seemingly transporting soil being excavated in areas of the Gigafactory 3 site.

The latest video (credit to 烏瓦 who shot the footage on March 25, 2019) from Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 highlights the speed and efficiency that is made possible when an ambitious timeline is taken seriously by a workforce that specializes in quick, surgically-precise buildouts. The upcoming battery and electric car factory is expected to be in operation later this year, and to make this possible; an expedited timeframe needs to be adopted. This is exactly what appears to be happening in the Gigafactory 3 site. At this point, there is no doubt that Gigafactory 3’s construction is hitting overdrive, and China’s formidable construction workforce is being mobilized fully.

Much of the progress in the Shanghai lot could be attributed to the capabilities and efficiencies of China’s construction workforce, which has a reputation for completing even large-scale projects in record time. Just recently, a surveyor from Gigafactory 3 reportedly noted that the facility in itself is being built like building blocks, which would allow Tesla’s construction partner, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of government-owned China Construction) to complete the project quickly. A worker from the site also mentioned previously that work in the upcoming factory is ongoing 24/7.

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Earlier this month, Shanghai official Chen Mingbo noted that Gigafactory 3’s initial construction should be completed by May this year. Since that announcement, the Gigafactory 3 site has pretty much transformed from a marshy, muddy plot of land to a massive, partly paved place that is consistently abuzz with activity.

Gigafactory 3 is key to Tesla’s push into China. While the company appears to be moving a lot of Model 3 this quarter, the only variants of the electric sedan available in China today are the high-end versions such as the Long Range RWD, Long Range AWD, and Performance Model 3. Affordable versions of the Model 3, as well as the upcoming Model Y, will be produced in Gigafactory 3, which will allow Tesla to price the affordable, mass-market vehicles competitively against local offerings.  

Watch the construction of Gigafactory 3 continue well into the night in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCRcGv61fkA&feature=youtu.be
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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.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for

SpaceX filed its public S-1, revealing $18.7 billion in revenue and billions in losses.

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SpaceX-Ax-4-mission-iss-launch-date

SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2026, making its financial details available to the public for the first time ahead of what could be the largest IPO in history.

An S-1 is the formal document a company must submit to the SEC before going public. It includes audited financials, risk factors, business descriptions, and how the company plans to use the money it raises. Companies are required to file one before selling shares to the public, and it must be published at least 15 days before the investor roadshow begins. SpaceX had already submitted a confidential draft to the SEC in April, which allowed regulators to review the filing privately before it went public.

The S-1 reveals that SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet division, which posted $11.4 billion in revenue, growing nearly 50% year over year. Despite that growth, the company lost about $4.9 billion in 2025 and has burned through more than $37 billion since its founding.

SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history

A significant portion of those losses trace back to xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which was recently merged into SpaceX. SpaceX directed roughly 60% of its capital spending in 2025 to its AI division, totaling around $20 billion, yet that division lost billions and grew revenue by only about 22%.

SpaceX plans to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America leading the offering. The dual-class share structure means going public will not meaningfully reduce Musk’s control, as Class B shares he holds carry 10 votes per share compared to one vote for public Class A shares.

The company is targeting a raise of around $75 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, which would make it the largest IPO ever. The investor roadshow is reportedly planned for June 5.

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Elon Musk

Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises

Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.

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Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.

Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.

Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15

India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.

First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.

The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history

AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon just joined forces for one reason: Starlink is winning.

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Starlink D2D direct to device vs Verizon, AT&T (Concept render by Grok)

America’s three largest wireless carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, announced on On May 14, 2026 that they had agreed in principle to form a joint venture aimed at pooling their spectrum resources to expand satellite-based direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity across the United States in what can be seen as a direct response to SpaceX’s Starlink initiative. D2D, in plain terms, is technology that lets a standard smartphone connect directly to a satellite in orbit, the same way it connects to a cell tower, with no extra hardware required.

The alliance is widely seen as a means to slow Starlink’s rapid expansion in the satellite internet and mobile markets. SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile service launched commercially in July 2025 through a partnership with T-Mobile, starting with messaging before expanding to broadband data. SpaceX secured access to valuable wireless spectrum through its $17 billion deal with EchoStar, paving the way for significantly faster satellite-to-phone speeds.

The FCC just said ‘No’ to SpaceX for now

SpaceX was not shy about its reaction. SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell responded on X: “Weeeelllll, I guess Starlink Mobile is doing something right! It’s David and Goliath (X3) all over again — I’m bettin’ on David.” SpaceX’s VP of Satellite Policy David Goldman went further, flagging potential antitrust concerns and asking whether the DOJ would even allow three dominant competitors to coordinate in a market where a new rival is actively entering.


Financial analysts at LightShed Partners were blunt, saying the announcement showed the three carriers are “nervous,” and pointed to the timing: “You announce an agreement in principle when the point is the announcement, not the deal. The timing, weeks ahead of the SpaceX roadshow, was the point.”

As Teslarati reported, SpaceX’s next generation Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current system, with custom silicon and phased array antennas enabling around 20 times the throughput of the first generation. The carriers’ JV, which has no definitive agreement, no financial structure, and no deployment timeline yet, will need to move quickly to matter.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is targeting a Nasdaq listing as early as June 12, aiming for what would be the largest IPO in history. With Starlink now serving over 9 million subscribers across 155 countries, holding 59 carrier partnerships globally, and now powering Air Force One, the carriers’ joint venture announcement landed at exactly the wrong time to look like anything other than a defensive move.

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