On January 7, 2021, the second anniversary of the groundbreaking ceremony for Giga Shanghai—the factory that has become a major pillar of Tesla's growth in 2020—took place. Tesla set up production in China, marking an important step in CEO Elon Musk's global quest for EV dominance, and the start of real competition in the world's largest EV market.
On January 7, 2019, Elon Musk visited the Lingang area of Pudong district, East China, to break ground for Tesla's first major automotive plant outside the United States.
Looking forward to breaking ground on the @Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory today!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2019
Gigafactory 3 had begun construction on an 860,000-square-meter site that Tesla acquired in 2018 for approximately $140 million. As Musk expected, construction of the factory progressed at a very fast pace, and Phase 1 was completed within 10 months of the start.Tesla CEO @elonmusk with Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong at Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory ground breaking ceremony. $TSLA #Tesla #China #TeslaChina #GF3 pic.twitter.com/sIecnGsU71
— Vincent 🚀🟠 (@vincent13031925) January 7, 2019
"Aiming to finish initial construction this summer, start Model 3 production end of year & reach high volume production next year," Musk tweeted. "Shanghai Giga production of Model 3 / Y will serve greater China region ... not North America. Affordable cars must be made on same continent as customers."
On the first anniversary of the groundbreaking, which took place on January 7, 2020, Musk arrived at Gigafactory 3 to attend an event delivering Tesla's China-made Model 3. This was a great start before the massive rollout of Tesla's electric vehicles in China.Aiming to finish initial construction this summer, start Model 3 production end of year & reach high volume production next year
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2019
Tesla CEO @elonmusk arrived Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory GF3 China for the China-Made Model 3 Delivery Ceremony today$TSLA #Tesla #China #GF3 pic.twitter.com/1BaSIPzhdC
— Tesmanian.com (@Tesmanian_com) January 7, 2020
2020 was a watershed year for both Tesla and the entire electric vehicle market in China. Despite the difficulties and production halts due to COVID-19, Giga Shanghai has become excellent support for increasing Tesla's influence in the global automotive markets. In addition to meeting the demand in the Chinese market, the factory began production for overseas markets.
For the second anniversary of the groundbreaking ceremony, Giga Shanghai has begun mass production of the China-made Model Y, for which orders were staged on January 1, 2021. According to industry sources, Tesla plans to produce around 550,000 vehicles at its Chinese plant in 2021, which will truly be a game-changer.
© 2020, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
