Tesla has been operating Giga Shanghai under a closed loop system where employees live and work at the factory since April 19, following a 22 day shutdown due to COVID-19 lockdowns in the city.
According to several sources that spoke with Bloomberg, Giga Shanghai will continue to operate under this closed loop system until June 13. Workers have reportedly been sleeping on the factory floor, but given the extended timeline Tesla is working to move them into temporary dormitories or vacant COVID isolation centers.
Despite the extension of the closed loop system, Tesla is also hoping to ramp up production starting next week. The factory has been running on a single 12 hour shift for six days every week, producing up to 1,200 cars per day.
However, Tesla is planning to add a second shift next week so the factory can operate around the clock and resume pre-shutdown levels of production of 2,600 cars per day.
Tesla was originally hoping to get back to full production by mid-May, but had to push back that timeline due to not being able to secure enough workers to operate the second shift.
The 22 day shutdown had a significant effect on Tesla’s April production and sales figures. Tesla produced 10,757 Model 3 and Model Y cars during the 12 days the factory was operational in April, and delivered just 1,512 cars, with none being exported out of the country.
Since reopening Tesla has been able to export two shipments of between 4,000 and 5,000 cars each to Europe and other markets.
