Tesla Inc. will build a new battery factory in Shanghai, increasing investment in China at a time of brewing tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Tesla will build a factory in Shanghai to manufacture its large-scale energy-storage battery known as the Megapack, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday.
Tesla, which is owned by Elon Musk, will break ground on the plant in the third quarter of this year and start production in the second quarter of 2024, Xinhua reported.
The new factory will complement Tesla’s existing plant in Shanghai, where it makes electric vehicles, and it will initially produce 10,000 Megapacks a year, equal to around 40 gigawatt-hours of energy storage, to be sold globally, Xinhua said.
With the new plant, Tesla will take advantage of China’s dominant battery supply chain to increase output of its Megapacks, and to lower their costs, in hopes of meeting the rising global demand for energy storage as the world shifts to using more renewable energy.
Tesla generates most of its money from its electric-car business, but Mr. Musk has committed to expanding its solar energy and battery business to roughly the same size as its car business.
The Chinese battery giant CATL has been deepening its collaborations with clients, including Tesla, in supplies for energy-storage batteries. CATL’s chairman, Robin Zeng, expects energy-storage batteries to have a larger market than batteries powering electric vehicles.
Tesla generates most of its money from its electric-car business, but Mr. Musk has committed to expanding its solar energy and battery business to roughly the same size as its car business.
The Chinese battery giant CATL has been deepening its collaborations with clients, including Tesla, in supplies for energy-storage batteries. CATL’s chairman, Robin Zeng, expects energy-storage batteries to have a larger market than batteries powering electric vehicles.
