Tesla has reportedly decided not to purchase a plot of land beside the Giga Shanghai facility. According to sources who spoke with Reuters, the decision is directly linked to the current 25% tariff on imported electric cars from China by the US.
The original plan for Giga Shanghai was to produce vehicles for the Chinese market. However, things changed recently when Tesla started to ship Model 3’s built-in Shanghai to the European market.
Giga Berlin will eventually fill this void, but as European demand continues to skyrocket, Giga Shanghai will continue to ship vehicles to the region for the time being.
The future for Giga Shanghai is not clear for the next five to ten years. Tesla is planning to release Chinese-specific vehicle in the next few years. As well, rumors are swirling that Tesla will place development projects such as the Tesla Semi at Giga Shanghai in the near future.
The land purchase is not dead, and Tesla did not confirm any details around the land purchase. As per a Tesla China release, Giga Shanghai is developing as planned.
