Tesla's Shanghai energy storage Megafactory begins trial production

U.S. carmaker Tesla's Shanghai energy storage Megafactory has begun trial production, serving as a good example of cooperation between China and the United States to address climate challenges.

The new plant is dedicated to manufacturing Megapacks, Tesla's energy-storage batteries, with mass production expected to commence fully in the first quarter of 2025, Tesla China told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The facility was built with an initial annual production capacity of 10,000 units, equal to around 40 gigawatt-hours of energy storage, according to the company.

The project is Tesla's second plant in Shanghai, underscoring the U.S. company's commitment to investing in the world's second-largest economy, its confidence in China's manufacturing capabilities, and the strengthened economic ties between the two countries in the new energy sector, said Wu Qisheng, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

Covering an area of approximately 200,000 square meters, the new plant represents a total investment of about 1.45 billion yuan (about $198.7 million), according to the administration of the Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.