Elon Musk’s huge investment in China

The American electric car manufacturer Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, one of the richest people in the world, has announced that it will establish a new mega-factory in Shanghai. The company’s energy storage product, Megapack, will be produced at the factory.

Following today’s signing ceremony in Shanghai, Tesla announced that construction of the new factory will begin in the third quarter of the year. Production is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2024.

MUSK’S INTEREST IN CHINA

Recently, there were reports that Elon Musk would go to China to meet with Prime Minister Li Chiang.

Tom Zhu, Tesla’s Senior Vice President of Automotive and Shanghai Vice Mayor Wu Qing attended the ceremony of the agreement signed between Tesla and the Chinese government today. Tesla executive Tao Lin also signed the contract.

The new factory will initially produce 10,000 Megapacks each year, equivalent to about 40 gigawatt-hours of energy storage. The products will be available worldwide.

TESLA WAS BANNED

While trade and diplomatic tensions between China and the US increase, Tesla’s increase in investments in this country is interpreted as “remarkable” by experts.

Most recently, Tesla was banned from Chinese military compounds and housing estates in early 2021 over concerns about sensitive data collected by in-vehicle cameras.