Coinspeaker
Tesla Contributed 25% of Total Auto Production in Shanghai Last Year
According to Chinese local media reports, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) cars accounted for approximately a quarter of all auto production in Shanghai last year. The US EV automaker’s 25% automotive production value in 2022 underscores the pace of its increased production output in China.
Last year, Tesla generated an auto production value of 183.9 billion yuan ($26.4 billion) in Shanghai. According to a Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information official, this figure was 23% of the city’s total automotive manufacturing production. Furthermore, the production of more than 50% of Tesla’s global deliveries last year took place at its Shanghai facility. Reports stated that the plant, which rolled out its first Tesla EV in 2019, can now produce up to 1.1 million cars annually.
The Shanghai government official also said the production value generated by the China factory increased overall industrial production by 1.3 percentage points in 2022. According to Chen Kele, Tesla’s push to localize the procurement of parts has created 100,000 supply jobs. In addition, the American EV manufacturer’s operations have also brought 60 Chinese parts makers into its global supply chain.
Chen further explained that local authorities would continue collaborating with Tesla to drive AI initiatives in Shanghai. This development marks a remarkable turnaround in the disposition of the Chinese city toward Tesla’s autonomous driving and robot modules. Tesla vehicles were previously banned from Chinese military complexes and some government facilities in 2021. At the time, authorities expressed concern that cameras associated with the EVs collected sensitive data.
Tesla Shanghai Auto Production News Comes After Company Hiked EV Prices in China
Earlier in the month, Tesla hiked the prices of its Model S and X cars in China by almost $3,000. After previously slashing its product prices, the company opted for the increase to remain competitive.
At Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said the company targeted higher sales volumes than higher margins. Furthermore, Musk added that he expected Tesla to “generate significant profit through autonomy” over time. At the time, the outspoken business executive explained:
“We’ve taken the view that pushing for higher volumes and a larger fleet is the right choice here versus a lower volume and higher margin. However, we expect our vehicles, over time, will be able to generate significant profit through autonomy.”
Musk also added:
“We do believe we’re laying the groundwork here, and then it’s better to ship a large number of cars at a lower margin and subsequently harvest that margin in the future as we perfect autonomy. This is an extremely important point.”
Musk Steps Down as Twitter CEO for Former NBCU Chair Linda Yaccarino
In other recent developments, Tesla’s shares saw mild gains as Musk is set to relinquish his CEO position at Twitter. The Tesla chief had previously intended to vacate the position before the search for a new CEO began. With new Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino set to resume office in about six weeks, Tesla investors appear pleased that Musk is setting his priorities right. The outgoing Twitter CEO will instead take on the Executive Chairman and CTO role at the microblogging platform he purchased in October 2022.
Tesla Contributed 25% of Total Auto Production in Shanghai Last Year
