Elon Musk Ignores Trump’s Trade War with China and Opens Its First Tesla Factory Outside US in Shanghai to Make 500k Vehicles a Year
Elon Musk has signed a preliminary agreement with the Shanghai government to build a Tesla factory in China, despite a looming trade war.
Here’s what Nexter.org knows about it.
New hope for Tesla investors?
Right after the car company was forced to raise the prices of its cars by at least $20,000 each due to China’s increased import tariffs on American-made cars, Tesla announced it would open its first international factory in Shanghai.
Reuters quotes local Chinese media on Tuesday as saying the Californian company has signed agreements with Shanghai authorities that will allow it to open a plant in the Chinese city with an annual capacity of 500,000 cars. The Shanghai government made the announcement on its official WeChat account which showed a picture of Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk shaking hands with Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong.
Source: SHANGHAI MUNICIPAL PEOPLE’S GOVERNMENT
A factory in China would help the carmaker avoid import tariffs imposed by Beijing in the latest salvo of its trade spat with the US.
“Today, we have signed a Cooperative Agreement for Tesla to start building Gigafactory 3, a new electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Shanghai,” a Tesla spokesperson told Mashable in a statement.
“We expect construction to begin in the near future, after we get all the necessary approvals and permits. From there, it will take roughly two years until we start producing vehicles and then another two to three years before the factory is fully ramped up to produce around 500,000 vehicles per year for Chinese customers.”
Tesla said in November it is likely to manufacture the Model 3 sedan and upcoming Model Y crossover in China rather than its pricier models.
Tesla hit a production record during the second quarter with more than 53,000 cars rolling off assembly line over the three months to end June. A year ago the company produced 25,700 during the same quarter.
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