Musk is expected to meet Shanghai Communist Party secretary Chen Jining on Friday. Photo: Reuters

It is reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk will meet with Shanghai's top official to discuss Gigafactory expansion plans. The meeting will take place as part of Musk's business visit to China.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is expected to meet with Shanghai Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining on Friday. The meeting with the city's top official comes amid rumors that Tesla Giga Shanghai is planning to expand its production capacity. On Tuesday, Musk flew to Beijing and has already met with the country's top officials and Robin Zeng, chairman of CATL.

The meeting between Tesla CEO and Shanghai's top official reflects the city's attempt to attract more foreign investment after China reopened its international borders earlier this year, according to the South China Morning Post. A senior government official in Shanghai, who asked not to be named, told the publication that the city is determined to further open up the local market and welcome top international brands.

“A handshake between Musk and Chen will be more than a symbolic move,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “Industry employees in China’s automotive sector are expecting Tesla to increase its investment in China, which will represent a renewed endorsement of the country’s electric vehicle (EV) market by the world’s most successful entrepreneur.”

In early 2022, amid strong domestic sales of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, Tesla was considering a plan to expand its factory in Shanghai. But, the company has shelved plans to build a second assembly line after it failed to get approval from Chinese authorities. The new line was expected to double the capacity of the Shanghai plant to 2 million units per year.

© 2023, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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