Elon Musk visits Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory

SHANGHAI -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk paid an early morning visit to the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory on Thursday during his trip in China, and lauded the plant for its production efficiency and quality.

Musk congratulated the Chinese team for their amazing work and the "positive energy of getting things done." "It's been incredibly impressive how you have been able to overcome so many difficulties and so many challenges," he said.

"Throughout the world, the cars we produce here are not just the most efficient reproduction, but also the highest quality," Musk added.

Shanghai Gigafactory was viewed as a "role model" for Tesla's other factories across the world, as Gigafactories in Berlin and Texas, which were opened last year, are "replicating" its efficiency and industrial influence on a global scale.

Tesla's Shanghai plant delivered 710,000 vehicles in 2022, an increase of 48 percent from 2021.

Established in 2019, the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai is the carmaker's first Gigafactory outside the United States.

The US carmaker announced in April that it will build a new mega factory in Shanghai, which will be dedicated to manufacturing the company's energy-storage product Megapack.

The new plant is scheduled to break ground in the third quarter of this year and start production in the second quarter of 2024.