Investor's Corner
Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in China starts preparations with 6-month construction permit
Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in China is under a very ambitious timeline, considering that electric car maker is expecting to start producing vehicles on the site sometime in the second half of 2019. So far, preparations for the buildout of the upcoming facility are being put in place, including the construction of a perimeter fence that surrounds the company’s 864,885-square meter plot of land in Shanghai’s Lingang Industrial Zone.
Just recently, documents have emerged pointing to Tesla acquiring a construction permit to start building facilities for Gigafactory 3. The construction permit, which was granted by the Shanghai Municipal Government, is good for two stages of construction and effective for 180 days, starting from December 29, 2018. The contractor for the project was listed as China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of China Construction, a large government-owned construction firm.
Tesla China has obtained a construction permit (GF3) from the Shanghai Municipal Government. The construction permit date starts from December 29, 2018.
Constructor: China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co.,Ltd
Credit: @congcongcui1 $TSLA #Tesla $China #TeslaChina pic.twitter.com/ThvUkgPIpG— vincent (@vincent13031925) January 2, 2019
It should be noted that the involvement of a government-owned construction company bodes well for Gigafactory 3’s buildout. With such parties involved, after all, there is little that could get in the way of the project being completed on time. Thus, for now, at least, it would appear that the speed of Gigafactory 3’s construction would likely depend on how fast Tesla can ship and set up its assembly lines for the upcoming facility. If Tesla can accomplish this, there is a very good chance that China’s first locally-made Model 3 would indeed roll out of Gigafactory 3 sometime in the second half of 2019.
So far, Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 buildout has been seeing notable support from the Chinese government. Last year, China all but changed its rules for Tesla when it allowed the company to be the sole owner of Gigafactory 3. After the project was officially announced, things moved at an even faster pace. Local Shanghai banks were quick to grant low-interest loans to fund part of Gigafactory 3’s construction. Tesla’s bid for the 864,885-square meter plot of land in Shanghai’s Lingang Industrial Zone also went unchallenged, allowing the electric car maker to secure the land it needed for the facility without any problems.
While Tesla attracts some negative publicity in China, the company also gets support and favorable coverage from state media. Last month, for one, local Chinese news outlets reported that the facility’s progress is about one year ahead of its original schedule. Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong and Vice Mayor Wu Qing also addressed Gigafactory 3 during a meetup with Tesla’s leaders in China, where they urged the electric car maker and companies involved in the facility’s construction to expedite the factory’s buildout.
When Tesla announced its initial timeline for Gigafactory 3, many were skeptical. The company initially estimated that vehicle production would begin roughly two years after construction begins. This was met by many raised eyebrows from Tesla critics and Wall Street, with Consumer Edge Research analyst James Albertine dubbing the timetable as “not feasible.” Tesla eventually adjusted its timeframe for Gigafactory 3 on its Q3 2018 vehicle production and deliveries report. Instead of being more conservative, though, Tesla opted to do the opposite, stating that it is accelerating the construction of the upcoming Shanghai facility.
Elon Musk, for his part, has teased that he would be visiting China soon for the groundbreaking of Gigafactory 3. Once that is done, the progress of the battery and electric car facility would likely move at an even faster pace.
Thanks Tesla owners in China! Looking forward to visiting soon for the groundbreaking of Gigafactory Shanghai!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 30, 2018
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Weeeelllll, I guess @Starlink Mobile is doing something right! It’s David and Goliath (X3) all over again — I’m bettin’ on David 🙂 https://t.co/5GzS752mxL
— Gwynne Shotwell (@Gwynne_Shotwell) May 14, 2026
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.