Chinese ambassador to US congratulates Tesla on 1 millionth vehicle at Shanghai plant
"Together, China & the US can make things happen," said the Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang.
Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang congratulated Tesla's Shanghai plant on seeing its one millionth production vehicle roll off the assembly line, seeing it as a model for US-China cooperation.
"In less than 3 years, from 0 to 1,000,000. This is a marvelous achievement," Qin said in a retweet of a tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier today.
"Together, China & the US can make things happen. Congratulations to @elonmusk and all the @teslacn Giga Shanghai contributors, "Qin added.
— Qin Gang 秦刚 (@AmbQinGang) August 15, 2022
The Tesla Shanghai plant project is the first wholly foreign-owned auto manufacturing project in China and is not only critical to the automaker, but also has an important role in the stability of the US-China relationship.
Giga Shanghai started construction on January 7, 2019, and delivered its first Model 3 in December 2019, demonstrating "China speed."
Giga Shanghai's annual capacity reached 250,000 units by the end of 2020 and rise to over 450,000 units by 2021.
In 2021, Giga Shanghai's annual deliveries reach 484,130 units, up 235 percent year-on-year, accounting for 51.7 percent of Tesla's global capacity in 2021.
Giga Shanghai now has an annual capacity of more than 750,000 units, making it Tesla's largest factory in the world, according to the company's second-quarter earnings report released on July 20.
According to multiple media reports, Tesla upgraded Giga Shanghai's production line between late July and early August, and will expand its annual capacity to around 1.1-1.2 million units after the upgrade is completed.
On August 13, Giga Shanghai saw the one millionth production vehicle roll off the line.
The team at Tesla's Shanghai plant is 99.9 percent Chinese, and the supply chain is already more than 95 percent localized, Grace Tao, Tesla's vice president of external affairs, said on August 15.
Qin's latest comments are not the first time Tesla has been mentioned, given its importance to the US-China relationship.
On March 4, Qin tweeted that he had an inspiring talk with Musk on cars on the road, stars in the sky, research of human brain, meaning of life on earth and our future into the space.
— Qin Gang 秦刚 (@AmbQinGang) March 4, 2022