On January 26, the reporter learned from the Environmental Information Disclosure Platform of Shanghai Enterprises and Institutions that Tesla had publicized the environmental assessment of the second-stage production line optimization project of the Shanghai Super Factory (Phase I). The environmental assessment report shows that the total investment in the production line optimization project is as high as 1.2 billion yuan, of which environmental protection investment is 85 million yuan, accounting for 7.08%. It is expected to start construction in December this year and complete it in April next year. Tesla also stated in the EIA report that the company has completed the carbon footprint and carbon emission accounting of the project.
At present, Tesla divides the Shanghai Super Factory into four major areas, namely the vehicle production area, the test area, the parts production area and the joint workshop (repair workshop). Tesla stated in the EIA report that the project is an expansion project and will be carried out in the existing new model production area (that is, the Shanghai Super Factory (Phase 1) Phase B production area), and the production models will not change compared to before the expansion. That is, Model 3, Model Y and related derivative models are still maintained.
The EIA report shows that the production line optimization project is mainly the expansion of the press shop, the body shop, the paint shop, the final assembly shop and the logistics operation center. Tesla said that the project will increase production capacity by increasing working hours, increasing the number of employees, and increasing the frequency of material turnover, but the EIA report did not disclose the increase in production capacity.
According to Tesla’s estimation, after the completion of the production line optimization project, 4,000 employees will be added, and the number of employees in the entire plant will reach 19,000.
The second phase of the Tesla Super Factory project (Phase I) was originally divided into two phases of construction, A and B, but later the R&D center was removed from Phase B and changed to Phase C for construction separately. According to the EIA report, the Shanghai Super Factory has completed the construction of phases A and B. The overall adjustment project of parts and components and the phase C project are still under construction.
However, Tesla China announced earlier that the Shanghai R&D center and the Shanghai factory data center have been completed. Tesla introduced at the time that the Shanghai R&D and Innovation Center is Tesla’s first overseas R&D center based on vehicle development, including software, hardware, electronics, materials, power and energy engineering teams. Currently, there are 28 R&D centers in total. This laboratory focuses on the development of Tesla’s software, hardware, processes and technologies in China, and at the same time undertakes application adaptation and standard testing for the Chinese market, and participates in global AI machine learning related research and development.
The EIA report mentions that the R&D center undertakes various performance tests for vehicle manufacturing and parts production in the Shanghai plant, including material laboratories and battery laboratories.
The re-expansion of Shanghai Super Factory is inseparable from Tesla’s positioning. This year Tesla has positioned Shanghai Gigafactory as the company’s main automobile export center. In addition to the delivery of the Chinese market, the Shanghai Gigafactory also exports a large number of Model 3 and Model Y to Asia-Pacific, Europe and other places. According to the financial report for the third quarter of this year, the annual production capacity of the Shanghai Super Factory has exceeded 450,000 vehicles, and the company’s revenue in the Chinese market reached US$3.113 billion, an increase of 78.5% year-on-year.
