May 14, Xinhua News: The Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Lingang New Area Management Committee recently announced that Tesla, a major U.S. electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, has obtained a construction permit for its megapack production factory project in Shanghai. This will be Tesla’s first battery gigafactory project outside the U.S.

The total investment for the new factory will be approximately CNY 1.45 billion (1 CNY = approximately 22 yen). The site area will be approximately 200,000 square meters, and operations are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025.

The company plans to produce 10,000 units per year, with a storage capacity of nearly 40 gigawatt hours (GWh). Each commercial battery can store more than 3 megawatt hours of charge and can be used for a variety of purposes, including renewable energy systems and peak management. (c)Xinhua News/AFPBB News