Spectacular aerial footage shows Tesla’s $2billion ‘Gigafactory’ being built in China

Spectacular aerial footage shows Tesla’s $2billion ‘Gigafactory’ being built in China as workers aim to complete the assembly workshop by May

  • Construction of the US electric carmaker’s mega plant has been in full swing since it broke ground in January
  • Pile foundation works at the 864,885-sq m lot have been installed and steel roof grid construction has begun 
  • The Shanghai plant’s assembly workshop is expected to be completed in May, an official said last month
  • A construction worker told Global Times that entire factory could complete construction in July or August  

Advertisement

New aerial footage and images have captured the rapid progress being made in the construction of US electric carmaker Tesla’s $2billion ‘Gigafactory’ in China.

Construction of the plant has been in full swing since January in Lingang area, a high-end manufacturing park in the southeast harbour of Shanghai.

Pile foundation works at the 864,885-square metre lot have been completed and the steel structure construction of the factory has begun, according to officials. Multiple sets of steel roof grids have also been installed.

New aerial footage and images have captured the rapid progress being made in the construction of United States electric carmaker Tesla’s $2billion ‘Gigafactory’ in Shanghai’ Lingang Area since it officially broke ground in January

Pile foundation works at the 864,885-square metre lot have been completed and the steel structure construction of the factory has begun, according to officials. Multiple sets of steel roof grids have also been installed

Pile foundation works at the 864,885-square metre lot have been completed and the steel structure construction of the factory has begun, according to officials. Multiple sets of steel roof grids have also been installed

Shanghai city government official Chen Mingbo said in March that the plant's assembly workshop is expected to be completed in May, adding that part of the facility's production line would be put into operation by the end of the year

Shanghai city government official Chen Mingbo said in March that the plant’s assembly workshop is expected to be completed in May, adding that part of the facility’s production line would be put into operation by the end of the year

Shanghai city government official Chen Mingbo said in March that the plant’s assembly workshop is expected to be completed in May, adding that part of the facility’s production line would be put into operation by the end of the year.   

Last Tuesday, Jerome Guillen, Tesla’s President of Automotive, met with Shanghai’s deputy mayor, Wu Qing, to discuss construction progress, supply chain logistics and future development plans, according to a statement released by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

A construction worker told the Global Times on condition of anonymity that the factory will complete construction in July or August with the current speed.

A construction worker told Global Times on condition of anonymity the factory will complete construction in July or August

A construction worker told Global Times on condition of anonymity the factory will complete construction in July or August

Tesla intends to use the 500,000-vehicle-capacity plant to produce base versions of Model 3 and later also the Model Y

Tesla intends to use the 500,000-vehicle-capacity plant to produce base versions of Model 3 and later also the Model Y

The project, with an investment of over US$7billion, is the largest foreign-invested manufacturing project in Shanghai history

The project, with an investment of over US$7billion, is the largest foreign-invested manufacturing project in Shanghai history

Tesla intends to use the 500,000-vehicle-capacity plant to produce base versions of Model 3 and later also the Model Y.

The project, with an investment of more than 50 billion yuan (US$7 billion), is the largest foreign-invested manufacturing project in Shanghai’s history and Tesla’s first plant outside the United States.

‘We think with the resources here we can build the Shanghai Gigafactory in record time and we’re looking forward to hopefully having some initial production of the Model 3 towards the end of this year and achieving volume production next year,’ Tesla CEO Elon Musk said at the ground-breaking ceremony in January. 

‘Affordable cars must be made on same continent as customers,’ Musk wrote on Twitter ahead of the event. 

Before: An aerial photo taken on Jan 3 shows the barren 864,885-square metre lot before the ground-breaking ceremony

Before: An aerial photo taken on Jan 3 shows the barren 864,885-square metre lot before the ground-breaking ceremony

A full-fledged auto assembly factory can take about two years to build but the Shanghai government has thrown its support behind the Tesla project, which would be China's first wholly foreign-owned car plant and a reflection of the government¿s broader shift to open up its car market

A full-fledged auto assembly factory can take about two years to build but the Shanghai government has thrown its support behind the Tesla project, which would be China’s first wholly foreign-owned car plant and a reflection of the government’s broader shift to open up its car market

Sales of so-called new-energy vehicles (NEVs) - a category which includes Tesla's battery-powered cars - continue to be strong in China, where the government aims to shift away entirely from combustion engine vehicles

Sales of so-called new-energy vehicles (NEVs) – a category which includes Tesla’s battery-powered cars – continue to be strong in China, where the government aims to shift away entirely from combustion engine vehicles

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Chinese officials announced the beginning of construction at the factory site in Shanghai on Jan 7

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Chinese officials announced the beginning of construction at the factory site in Shanghai on Jan 7

A full-fledged auto assembly factory can take about two years to build but the Shanghai government has thrown its support behind the Tesla project, which would be China’s first wholly foreign-owned car plant and a reflection of the government’s broader shift to open up its car market. 

Producing cars locally is also likely to help Tesla minimise the impact of the Sino-US trade war, which has forced the car maker to lower prices of its US-made cars in China – which has becoming increasingly important as the company seeks to offset softening demand in the United States. 

Trade war aside, the carmaker is building the plant in an auto market that likely contracted last year for the first time in decades. 

However, sales of so-called new-energy vehicles (NEVs) – a category which includes Tesla’s battery-powered cars – continue to be strong in a country where the government aims to shift away entirely from combustion engine vehicles. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk