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Tesla Model 3 production in China is opening doors to a lucrative car-sharing market
Tesla’s plans for China are ambitious, even by the company’s standards. By the end of summer, Tesla expects the initial construction of Gigafactory 3 to be complete, and by year’s end, the company plans to start Model 3 production in the facility. As the dust settles after the groundbreaking ceremony for Gigafactory 3, though, a notable opportunity for Tesla has also presented itself.
China represents the world’s largest auto market, and its EV industry is growing fast. Amidst this growth, the country has also seen the rise of car-sharing services, which provide commuters a way to get from Point A to Point B without the hassles of public transportation or the responsibilities of owning a car. An analysis from the Nikkei Asian Review last year estimated that car-sharing services in China could hire out as many as 2 million vehicles in 2020 — a notable increase from the 100,000 cars used in 2017.
Since CC Clubs, China’s first modern car-sharing company, was launched in 2010, the industry has seen a notable rise. Amidst the government’s initiatives that make car ownership trickier, the presence of car-sharing services was widely appreciated by the commuting public. Over the years, car-sharing services in the country have steadily transitioned to electric vehicles as well, augmented in part by the government’s subsidies in production and sales of EVs, as well as restrictions placed on ICE vehicles in a number of Chinese cities.
In response to this trend, Bloomberg noted that legacy automakers are launching initiatives to catch China’s car-sharing trend. Last April alone, Didi Chuxing, one of China’s most prominent ride-hailing firms, formed an alliance with auto companies such as Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp. to develop vehicles explicitly designed for car-sharing. Volvo Cars and Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. have also launched a car-sharing feature for its new models through its joint venture, Lynk & Co.
It is this particular market that Tesla can breach with the vehicles that will be produced in Gigafactory 3. Tesla has established itself as a maker of premium, desirable electric cars in China, but its vehicles have always been weighed down by import tariffs, which hike up the cars’ prices. With Gigafactory 3 in the picture, though, Tesla would be able to produce and sell its vehicles on the same playing field as local automakers. This presents a valuable advantage to Tesla, which intends to exclusively produce affordable versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in Gigafactory 3.
-->Ridesharing actually forms a large part of Elon Musk’s vision for the future. In his Master Plan, Part Deux, Musk described his plan of launching a ridesharing service comprised of fully autonomous vehicles. During the third-quarter earnings call, Musk elaborated on his idea, stating that Tesla would be open to the idea of deploying its own fleet of vehicles in areas where there are few electric cars.
“Tesla will for sure operate its own ride-hailing service. There will be a company-owned fleet where there aren’t enough customer cars to be rented out. So if we find in a particular metro (where) there aren’t enough customers who are willing to add their car to the shared fleet, that’s where we’d supplant with the company-owned fleet. So that’s why it’s sort of a combination of the Uber-Lyft thing and Airbnb. We would charge something comparable to how you’d say the App Store works, or I don’t know, we’d charge 30% or something in order for somebody to add the car to the fleet. I think that’s a pretty sensible way to go.”
While Elon Musk’s Tesla Network would not be launched in China in the near future (Full Self-Driving is still under development and regulations for autonomous vehicles are yet to be decided), rolling out a simpler, more basic form of the service in the country would most likely bode well for the company. By deploying fleets of affordable, locally produced Model 3 in key cities for car-sharing, Tesla would likely be able to establish itself as a key player in China’s car-sharing market.
For now, Tesla’s entry into China’s car-sharing industry would likely depend on the progress of Gigafactory 3’s construction. With government support, there is little doubt that the facility would be completed within its target timeframe. If Tesla can keep up and establish a Model 3 assembly line on time, it might not be long before China’s car-sharing market welcomes another large, potentially dominant player.
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News
Tesla is improving Giga Berlin’s free “Giga Train” service for employees
With this initiative, Tesla aims to boost the number of Gigafactory Berlin employees commuting by rail while keeping the shuttle free for all riders.
Tesla will expand its factory shuttle service in Germany beginning January 4, adding direct rail trips from Berlin Ostbahnhof to Giga Berlin-Brandenburg in Grünheide.
With this initiative, Tesla aims to boost the number of Gigafactory Berlin employees commuting by rail while keeping the shuttle free for all riders.
New shuttle route
As noted in a report from rbb24, the updated service, which will start January 4, will run between the Berlin Ostbahnhof East Station and the Erkner Station at the Gigafactory Berlin complex. Tesla stated that the timetable mirrors shift changes for the facility’s employees, and similar to before, the service will be completely free. The train will offer six direct trips per day as well.
“The service includes six daily trips, which also cover our shift times. The trains will run between Berlin Ostbahnhof (with a stop at Ostkreuz) and Erkner station to the Gigafactory,” Tesla Germany stated.
Even with construction continuing at Fangschleuse and Köpenick stations, the company said the route has been optimized to maintain a predictable 35-minute travel time. The update follows earlier phases of Tesla’s “Giga Train” program, which initially connected Erkner to the factory grounds before expanding to Berlin-Lichtenberg.
-->Tesla pushes for majority rail commuting
Tesla began production at Grünheide in March 2022, and the factory’s workforce has since grown to around 11,500 employees, with an estimated 60% commuting from Berlin. The facility produces the Model Y, Tesla’s best-selling vehicle, for both Germany and other territories.
The company has repeatedly emphasized its goal of having more than half its staff use public transportation rather than cars, positioning the shuttle as a key part of that initiative. In keeping with the factory’s sustainability focus, Tesla continues to allow even non-employees to ride the shuttle free of charge, making it a broader mobility option for the area.
News
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominate China’s real-world efficiency tests
The Tesla Model 3 posted 20.8 kWh/100 km while the Model Y followed closely at 21.8 kWh/100 km.
Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y once again led the field in a new real-world energy-consumption test conducted by China’s Autohome, outperforming numerous rival electric vehicles in controlled conditions.
The results, which placed both Teslas in the top two spots, prompted Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun to acknowledge Tesla’s efficiency advantage while noting that his company’s vehicles will continue refining its own models to close the gap.
Tesla secures top efficiency results
Autohome’s evaluation placed all vehicles under identical conditions, such as a full 375-kg load, cabin temperature fixed at 24°C on automatic climate control, and a steady cruising speed of 120 km/h. In this environment, the Tesla Model 3 posted 20.8 kWh/100 km while the Model Y followed closely at 21.8 kWh/100 km, as noted in a Sina News report.
These figures positioned Tesla’s vehicles firmly at the top of the ranking and highlighted their continued leadership in long-range efficiency. The test also highlighted how drivetrain optimization, software management, and aerodynamic profiles remain key differentiators in high-speed, cold-weather scenarios where many electric cars struggle to maintain low consumption.
Xiaomi’s Lei Jun pledges to continue learning from Tesla
Following the results, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun noted that the Xiaomi SU7 actually performed well overall but naturally consumed more energy due to its larger C-segment footprint and higher specification. He reiterated that factors such as size and weight contributed to the difference in real-world consumption compared to Tesla. Still, the executive noted that Xiaomi will continue to learn from the veteran EV maker.
“The Xiaomi SU7’s energy consumption performance is also very good; you can take a closer look. The fact that its test results are weaker than Tesla’s is partly due to objective reasons: the Xiaomi SU7 is a C-segment car, larger and with higher specifications, making it heavier and naturally increasing energy consumption. Of course, we will continue to learn from Tesla and further optimize its energy consumption performance!” Lei Jun wrote in a post on Weibo.
-->Lei Jun has repeatedly described Tesla as the global benchmark for EV efficiency, previously stating that Xiaomi may require three to five years to match its leadership. He has also been very supportive of FSD, even testing the system in the United States.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk reveals what will make Optimus’ ridiculous production targets feasible
Musk recent post suggests that Tesla has a plan to attain Optimus’ production goals.
Elon Musk subtly teased Tesla’s strategy to achieve Optimus’ insane production volume targets. The CEO has shared his predictions about Optimus’ volume, and they are so ambitious that one would mistake them for science fiction.
Musk’s recent post on X, however, suggests that Tesla has a plan to attain Optimus’ production goals.
The highest volume product
Elon Musk has been pretty clear about the idea of Optimus being Tesla’s highest-volume product. During the Tesla 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Musk stated that the humanoid robot will see “the fastest production ramp of any product of any large complex manufactured product ever,” starting with a one-million-per-year line at the Fremont Factory.
Following this, Musk stated that Giga Texas will receive a 10 million-per-year unit Optimus line. But even at this level, the Optimus ramp is just beginning, as the production of the humanoid robot will only accelerate from there. At some point, the CEO stated that a Mars location could even have a 100 million-unit-per-year production line, resulting in up to a billion Optimus robots being produced per year.
Self-replication is key
During the weekend, Musk posted a short message that hinted at Tesla’s Optimus strategy. “Optimus will be the Von Neumann probe,” the CEO wrote in his post. This short comment suggests that Tesla will not be relying on traditional production systems to make Optimus. The company probably won’t even hire humans to produce the humanoid robot at one point. Instead, Optimus robots could simply produce other Optimus robots, allowing them to self-replicate.
-->The Von Neumann is a hypothetical self-replicating spacecraft proposed by the mathematician and physicist John von Neumann in the 1940s–1950s. The hypothetical machine in the concept would be able to travel to a new star system or location, land, mine, and extract raw materials from planets, asteroids, and moons as needed, use those materials to manufacture copies of itself, and launch the new copies toward other star systems.
If Optimus could pull off this ambitious target, the humanoid robot would indeed be the highest volume product ever created. It could, as Musk predicted, really change the world.
Tesla is improving Giga Berlin’s free “Giga Train” service for employees
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominate China’s real-world efficiency tests
