Tesla Inc. will focus a lot more on China in a broad restructuring of its operations in the Asia-Pacific region.
It will dissolve its Asia Pacific (APAC) business unit and organize a new division specifically serving Greater China. This area also includes Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, according to sources familiar with the revamp. Tom Zhu, vice president of APAC operations, will head the new division.
China is Tesla's second largest market after the United States. Tesla is currently building its mammoth Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, China. Tesla CEO Elon Musk expects to produce 3,000 Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles (EVs) at Gigafactory 3 by the end of this year.
Musk is counting on China to boost Tesla's flagging sales and restore investor confidence badly dented by dispiriting news of huge production delays and low demand for Tesla EVs.
Sources with Tesla said Zhu will continue to lead operations of Gigafactory 3. Zhu took charge of Gigafactory 3's construction in 2018 after managing parts of Tesla's China business. He also led the rollout of Tesla's supercharger stations in China.
In addition, Zhu will also head sales and training for China, as well as a number of other teams. APAC's other teams will report to Tesla's head office in Palo Alto, California.
Last week, Musk said Gigafactory 3 is on schedule to complete construction by this summer. Musk revealed Tesla is already installing production equipment including "stamping machines, and the paint shop."
Gigafactory 3 only began construction began in December 2018. Tesla announced the deal to build Gigafactory 3 with the Shanghai municipal government only in October 2018. Groundbreaking for the plant, which was attended by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, took place in January.
The speed of construction at Gigafactory 3 has been astounding, according to experts. Construction of the massive Gigafactory 3 building is almost complete and is expected to finish in a few months. New drone video shows the building of the mammoth factory is almost complete.
Project contractor is China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).
Tesla will thus produce a total of 10,000 Model 3s per week at both the Tesla Factory in Nevada and at Gigafactory 3 by the end of the year if things go according to plan. It previously said it updated the production layout designed for Gigafactory 3 to be more optimized.
