On February 12th, an article from Liaoning provincial government’s Wechat account mentioned that the authorities are laying the foundation for Tesla’s new energy project settling in the city of Shenyang.  

Beijing Tesla center; photo credit: Tesla

The article was viewed as a sign that confirms the location of Tesla’s second factory in China that has been talked about for a long time. However, Tesla called the article “false information”, followed by the Liaoning government taking the article down.

In fact, ever since the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, disclosed the possible second giga factory plan in China in late 2021, the internet was awash with rumors about its siting. From Wuhan, Guangzhou, to Qingdao, the industry has given fair reasonings behind all the potential metropolitan candidates. However, as the EV superstar disclosed, its new factory project is undergoing the siting phase in 2022, and the final decision will be made in 2023.

Richard Wang, head of Gasgoo Auto Research Institute, said that Tesla’s second China factory would hold export responsibilities, so that the new plant is more likely to settle in a coastal city. From a short-term standpoint, the demands in European and North American markets are relatively strong. However, the construction of respective local factories could not keep up with the growing demands.

According to Tesla, its Shanghai Gigafactory produced 484,100 vehicles in 2021, soaring 235% year on year, and accounted for over half 51.7%) of the automaker’s global delivery volume. The Shanghai Gigafactory has become a pillar supporting Tesla worldwide delivery.