Musk: Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory's success relies on Chinese team

September 23 — "The success of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory is thanks to the Chinese team."

In an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on September 23, Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the company's Shanghai Gigafactory, stating: "The Tesla China team is highly talented, diligent, and reliable. Their product quality is first-class, and their production efficiency is extremely high. The Shanghai Gigafactory is a gem."

A Record-Breaking Construction Timeline

As Tesla's first wholly foreign-owned overseas Gigafactory, the Shanghai facility was officially signed in July 2018 in Shanghai's Lingang area. Construction began in January 2019, and by December of the same year, the first vehicle had rolled off the production line and deliveries had commenced. This achieved an industry-rare feat of "starting construction, completing construction, commencing production, and beginning deliveries all within the same year."

Global Production Core and Growth Engine

Since commencing operations, the Shanghai Gigafactory has become the core pillar of Tesla's global production capacity and a key engine for performance growth. Multiple core operational metrics rank first among all Tesla factories worldwide, providing decisive support for Tesla's global expansion, profitability improvement, and market competitiveness.

Production Capacity Milestones

According to public data, as of December 2025, the Shanghai Gigafactory had produced over 4 million vehicles cumulatively in six years of operation, consistently contributing nearly half of Tesla's global deliveries.

The factory's production capacity has steadily ramped up and continuously upgraded, with capacity iteration records frequently broken:

• August 2022: 1 million vehicles produced
• September 2023: 2 million vehicles produced
• October 2024: 3 million vehicles produced

Currently, the factory's single-site production capacity ranks first among all Tesla factories globally, effectively resolving the early industry pain points of insufficient global production capacity and long vehicle delivery cycles.

Global Export Hub

In terms of export and global expansion, the Shanghai Gigafactory serves as Tesla's largest vehicle export center worldwide.

According to public information, over one-third of the factory's vehicle production is designated for export, with products reaching dozens of countries and regions, including Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

This strategic layout has significantly reduced Tesla's global production and logistics operating costs, helping the company continuously capture global market share in the new energy vehicle sector.

Cost Control and Localization

Leveraging China's well-established automotive industry chain, the factory has achieved an extremely high level of localized operations. Currently:

• Localization rate of the supply chain: Over 95%
• Chinese local staff: 99.99% of the workforce

This high localization rate has effectively compressed costs related to parts procurement, production operations, and labor, enabling Tesla's flagship models—such as the Model 3 and Model Y—to offer exceptional cost performance, significantly enhancing their market penetration.

Production Efficiency and Quality

Compared with Tesla's other overseas factories, the Shanghai Gigafactory leads globally in production cadence, product yield rate, and vehicle delivery efficiency. This is the core reason Musk has repeatedly publicly praised the Chinese team.

The sustained global recognition of the factory serves as a powerful testament to the strength of "Made in China."

As of June this year, Tesla had produced its 9 millionth vehicle globally. Over the past year, the Shanghai factory contributed more than half of Tesla's global deliveries while maintaining an ultra-high manufacturing efficiency of approximately one vehicle every 30 seconds.

Mutual Growth with Local Supply Chain

As the core base of Tesla's global manufacturing and export system, the Shanghai Gigafactory continues to provide solid support for vehicle delivery demand in overseas markets, including Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

At the same time, Tesla and China's local supply chain have achieved mutual growth. Leveraging the development of the Shanghai Gigafactory, Tesla has signed contracts with over 400 local Tier 1 suppliers in China, of which more than 60 have entered Tesla's global supply chain system.