Even though Giga Shanghai is Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, last month’s COVID-19 lockdowns that resulted in a 22 day shutdown of the factory meant they were unable to ship any new vehicles to other markets in April.
That has now changed, as Tesla reportedly shipped 4,767 cars to Slovenia on Wednesday, May 11. This marks the first shipment of cars from Giga Shanghai since it reopened on April 19. (via Reuters)
Tesla was forced to shutdown Giga Shanghai for 22 days last month due to the local government issuing lockdown orders after a surge in COVID-19 cases in the area. The automaker was allowed to reopen the facility under a “closed loop” system where employees would live and work at the factory.
The shutdown meant Tesla produced just 10,757 Model 3 and Model Y cars during April, an impressive number when you consider the factory was only operational at reduced capacity for 12 days, but still well below the first quarter where Tesla averaged more than 60,000 cars produced each of the three months.
Tesla was hoping to ramp production to pre-shutdown levels of 2,600 cars per day by the middle of May. The automaker suffered a setback this week however when its wiring harness supplier, Aptiv Plc, had to close its Shanghai plant after a COVID outbreak among its employees.
The supply chain disruption caused Tesla to slow down production to about 200 cars on Tuesday.
