The news agency Xinhua News reports that it took Tesla just 168 working days, about six months, to go from licensing to a new, operational plant. "I never knew a factory of this size could be built so quickly," said Tesla chairman Elon Musk. Elon Musk also said that in the future, this factory will be opened to tourists. The location of this giant factory is in the Pudong District, Shanghai.
Tesla Gigafactory / Getty Images
Tesla is focusing intensively on the Chinese market, as it is already the second largest market, just behind the United States. Moreover, China's market for electric cars is very strong, thanks to regulations that make owning gasoline cars more expensive than electric cars.
The construction permit was granted by the Shanghai municipal government on December 29, 2018. The contractor for the project is China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., part of China State Construction Engineering, a large state-owned construction company. On January 7, 2019, the groundbreaking ceremony was held. By March, foundation work on several areas of the large facility was already in place and structures were under construction, with crew operating on site in multiple shifts to expedite construction.
In early August 2019, the exterior of the building is nearing completion, and manufacturing equipment has already begun to be installed, with a target to start production in November. In total, 168 days later, this giant car factory is ready to operate.
The following are photos inside the giant factory as of October 23, 2019. Tesla chairman, Elon Musk, also said that in the future, this factory will be opened to visiting tourists.
