The groundbreaking ceremony of the Shanghai Gigafactory took place on January 6, 2019, and in the summer the construction work was almost completed. The Gigafactory is scheduled to be commissioned in May 2020, but we know that Tesla is ahead of schedule.

Not all analysts believed that the production of Gigafactory 3 would be ready on time to live up to Musk's predictions. Tu Le, who works at Sino Auto Sights, a Chinese car company told Reuters: “There is a lot in the equation that is not in their control. There are some things that just need time in order to complete, like qualifying new manufacturing processes, a new battery supplier, getting the tooling shipped and set up, as well as setting up all the suppliers. Any parts that have to be imported need to go through customs, which also could mean delays.”

Many analysts did not believe in success, but thanks to Tesla's assertiveness and professionalism and the help of the Chinese government, the Shanghai Gigafactory surprised the whole world.

Gigafactory 3 is a combination of Tesla’s Fremont factory and Gigafactory Nevada. It is capable of building cars and batteries in one site. Gigafactory 3 seems to be built with all the knowledge Elon Musk and the other executives have gathered from their previous failures and successes, so it might run smoother.

Yesterday, JayinShanghai posted a video on YouTube, which shows how Chinese workers are going for their morning shift. Shanghai Gigafactory is currently open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In early November, Tesla's chairman Robyn Denholm was in Shanghai. According to Reuters, Denholm said the staff at China Gigafactory is 3,200 employees.

Currently, the Shanghai Gigafactory (Phase I) has four workshops for stamping, bodywork, painting and final assembly. In addition to the high speed of construction, the Shanghai Gigafactory also significantly reduced the cost of construction. Tesla said that the cost of building a Gigafactory production line in Shanghai is 65% lower than in the US (calculated according to capital costs per unit of capacity).

During the opening ceremony in January 2019, Elon Musk predicted that Tesla would conduct test runs by the end of December 2019. But already in October, we saw the made in China Model 3 during a test run. That became a very good sign, because the company is ahead of the schedule by more than two months.

On October 25, 2019, Tesla China announced the Model 3 Standard Range Plus (made in China) with an autopilot, which officially became open for booking. Starting price made in China Tesla Model 3 Standard Plus was 355,800 yuan. And just a few days ago, Tesla announced that it plans to begin shipping the Model 3 MIC in China by the end of January, which is another sign that the company is approaching mass production in the world's largest automobile market.

“We are making an effort to gradually deliver before the Spring Festival to let our customers drive our China-built Model 3 sedans back home for the holidays,” Tesla said in response to a Bloomberg query. The Spring Festival, a weeklong holiday marking the lunar new year, begins January 25.

Also made in China Model 3 takes part in the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition, which began on November 22 in China and became its first show in the world! In addition, the Model 3 made in China will also be shown in all Tesla China showrooms in many different cities starting November 22nd.

Piper Jaffray analyst Alexander Potter conducted a Tesla sales study in China.

“Even in a market like China, where EV models are commonplace ... Teslas are among the only electric vehicles (EVs) that consumers actually want to buy,” - said Potter.

As always, Tesla pleases its customers with a high-quality product and good news. The Chinese market is the largest market in the world and the Tesla Model 3 is undoubtedly a welcome vehicle for Chinese buyers. The Chinese government is committed to supporting and developing electric vehicles, which is a positive trend. And Tesla, which creates and develops premium electric vehicles at affordable prices, is like no other suitable for translating the intentions of the Chinese government.

Featured Image Credit: JayinShanghai