Tesla is rumored to be working on a new factory in China. Media reports suggest that the automaker already had a specific location in mind.
The company denied the rumor of the location, but it appears to confirm a second factory is indeed in the works.
Lately, there have been several rumors of Tesla looking for a location for a new Gigafactory.
After recent reports came out that Tesla decided to go to Russia, CEO Elon Musk denied the rumor, but he did hint that the automaker is indeed deciding on a new factory:
“Tesla has not yet decided on a fourth Gigafactory location.”
A month later, similar rumors are now popping out of China where media recently reported that Tesla decided to choose Qingdao as the location for its next factory and its second in the country.
Grace Tao, Tesla’s head of government affairs and PR in China, issued a statement denying that Tesla selected Qingdao, but she does seem to confirm that a “second factory” is in the works.
Here’s a full official statement:
“Tesla is very honored to contribute to the development of China’s new energy industry, and will continue to firmly increase its investment in China. Recently, I have received many inquiries from the media about the second factory, but I cannot answer them one by one. To everyone, the information on the site of Tesla’s second factory on the Internet is not true. Thanks to all friends who care about and support Tesla’s development.”
After the success of Gigafactory Shanghai, it would make sense for Tesla to increase its manufacturing presence in the country.
The automaker achieved an annualized production capacity of 450,000 electric vehicles at Gigafactory Shanghai within two years of starting production at the new factory.
It might be the fastest production ramp of any car factory ever.
It also enabled Tesla to turn Gigafactory Shanghai into its new “export hub,” which was previously Fremont Factory.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
