Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai Production Rate Points To Sharp Annual Increase

As the end of 2020 nears, Tesla Inc TSLA continues to increase its electric vehicle production capacity.

Tesla aims to produce 500,000 vehicles this year, which would represent a significant increase from 2019's 365,000 vehicles. 

Now info from the China Passenger Car Association covered by Tesla fan site Tesmanian reveals that Tesla produced 22,929 Model 3 at Gigafactory Shanghai in October.

Extrapolating this rate for a full year translates to an annual production rate of approximately 270,000 vehicles, and at the same time Tesla continues to expand capacity.

Tesla recently increased to three shifts at this factory to meet extreme demand after a price drop in the Model 3. 

Tesla also recently applied for permission for Model Y production at Gigafactory Shanghai. Tesla aims to produce approximately 550,000 vehicles at this factory in 2021.

This does not include Tesla's Fremont factory, or the Gigafactories under construction in Berlin or Texas. 

Benzinga's Take: It looks like the switch to LFP batteries, along with a third shift, has allowed Tesla to pump out a large amount of Model 3 vehicles.

Tesla vehicles are in high demand in China, but Tesla has also started exporting some vehicles to Europe and other parts of the world. With this increased capacity, Tesla is on its way to produce 1 million vehicles in 2021. 

Photo courtesy of Tesla.