Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai is nearing completion and the Chinese government is expecting the facility to be ready by May. Elon Musk's assembly plant for electric cars was also said to be progressing on schedule so they are likely to be operational by the end of the year.
According to Reuters, Chen Mingbo, the head of Shanghai's economic and information technology commission, mentioned this information about Tesla's Gigafactory during the annual parliamentary meeting that was held in Beijing earlier this week. However, the official did not provide any other details.
In January, Elon Musk attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory. At that time, the tech mogul said that his company is aiming to complete the initial construction by summer and then proceed to start the production of the Model 3 line units.
Many pointed out that the timetable for the completion of Tesla's Gigafactory is quite ambitious but China is known for its ability to build infrastructures fast so it was able to beat the May target date - just four months after the groundbreaking ceremony.
Moreover, it was said that fully developed car manufacturing plant normally takes two years to build but with the utmost support that the Shanghai government has been extending to Tesla, the project is progressing well and at an incredible speed. Since the timetable is being followed so far, Elon Musk's target of producing his line of vehicles will be achieved before the year ends.
The Tesla Gigafactory will be China's very first foreign-owned car factory. The country's agreement to host the foreign carmaker simply reflects the government's willingness to open up its car market so it can expand even more.
While the plant is still being built, the American car manufacturer has started the groundwork for the production of vehicles. It started the hiring process for its staff, setting up a local financial leasing company and acquiring of the materials needed for manufacturing the car units.
Teslarati reported that Tesla's plant in Shanghai is an important part of the company's plan to permeate the international car industry. Currently, China has the largest market for electric cars so Tesla is also hoping to get its share from this turnout by building a factory in Shanghai.
