It was expected, it is now official: Elon Musk is in China to launch the construction of a Tesla factory in Shanghai – called Gigafactory like the one that the electric car manufacturer has in Nevada (United States) .
Tesla hopes to finish the job next summer to start producing its Model 3 by the end of the year. The investment is $ 2 billion, according to Elon Musk.
The serial production goal of the Model 3 – 5000 per week – has almost ruined the business this year.
“We believe that with the resources we have here, we can build the Shanghai Gigafactory in record time and we hope to start producing Model 3 by the end of this year and reach next year’s production volume.” Elon Musk said at the event, accompanied by the mayor of Shanghai and local authorities.
This production will concern the new Model 3 base car – while the more elaborate versions will remain produced in the United States – and will be destined for the Chinese market.
The sedan, destined for the mass market, has still not been sold at the promised base price of $ 35,000. In the fourth quarter, 63,150 were delivered, below Wall Street forecasts.
“Affordable cars must be manufactured on the same continent as customers,” Musk said on Twitter before the event.
Tesla expects a production of 500,000 vehicles per year in China.
