Tesla is closing in on the construction of a new Megapack factory in China, as new equipment has been spotted on site.
After Tesla secured a site and held a signing ceremony for the upcoming Shanghai Megafactory in December, construction was expected to begin in Q1. As seen in a video shared by Wu Wa on Monday, and as the quarter draws to a close, new construction equipment has made its way to the site, suggesting that further construction could be imminent.
In the video, you can see multiple construction vehicles, including a crane, a bulldozer, and a few other hauling trucks spotted near the site and at the entrance. The video also shows the delivery of what appears to be a large electrical cabinet. Wu Wa also points out that multiple new steel pipes can be seen laying on the ground, along with crews being shuttled around the site.
You can see the full video from Wu Wa below.
The Megafactory is located near Tesla’s automotive “Gigafactory” in Shanghai, which currently produces the Model Y and Model 3 for several markets in Asia, Europe, Australia and elsewhere.
The potential for battery storage in big growth markets is astounding – needs regionalized supply chains and fair markets to enable a clean/efficient/resilient grid.
“India needs advanced BESS ecosystem to support 500GW of non-fossil energy target by 2032”…
— Rohan Patel (@rohanspatel) March 24, 2024
Originally aiming to start construction in Q3 2023, the project later revised expectations to instead begin production in the second quarter of this year. It’s not clear how long the Megafactory will take to complete construction, though we can expect to see how quickly it progresses in the next several months.
The Shanghai Megafactory is eventually expected to be able to produce 10,000 Megapacks per year, or the same amount as its sister Megafactory in Lathrop, California. Recently, the Lathrop Megafactory has been spotted with hundreds of Megapacks being readied to go out, just as a number of Megapack-based storage energy systems have come online around the world.
Tesla Energy’s growth rate in 2024 to outpace automotive business
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.