(File photo from SH Observer.)

Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory has reached an annual production capacity of 450,000, Tencent News said Monday, citing media sources invited to a recent tour of the plant, adding that this means Tesla could be one step closer to exceeding its 2020 guidance.

In its fourth-quarter earnings report for 2020, Tesla expected to reach 450,000 Model Y and Model 3 units per year at its Shanghai plant.

Tesla China has already met those goals and maybe on track for a 500,000-unit production target, the report said.

Last year, Tesla set a guidance to deliver 500,000 vehicles and ended up almost meeting its stated goal, delivering a total of 499,550 vehicles in 2020.

Tesla has not set guidance for this year, but is still looking to surpass its 2020 performance. The Shanghai plant's annual production will be an excellent measure of whether the company can exceed last year's goal.

In the first quarter of the year, the company delivered 184,800 vehicles. In the second quarter, Tesla delivered 201,250 vehicles.

During its second-quarter earnings call, Tesla announced that its Shanghai plant has become its main vehicle export center.

In early July, the Beijing News cited an environmental assessment that said the first phase of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory project was fully built, which could mean the start of mass production of the company's new, lower-priced models.

The second part of the project was completed on June 27, and commissioning began on July 5, meaning the first phase of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory is officially complete, the report said.

In January, Tesla China began construction of the second part of the first phase of the Shanghai Gigafactory, which is divided into two parts, A and B. Construction of part A began on Feb. 1, was completed on March 9, and commissioning began on March 10.

With the commissioning of Part B officially started on July 5, the second part of Shanghai Gigafactory Phase I is also completed, meaning that the construction of Shanghai Gigafactory Phase I has been fully completed, the report said.