① Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Gigafactory held a commencement ceremony today; ② The Financial Services Association reporter learned from the scene that compared to the previous announcement that it will be put into operation in the first quarter of next year, the Tesla factory will be put into operation as soon as possible or within this year. Tesla executives revealed that trial production will be carried out later this year.
Financial Services Association, May 23 (Reporter Zeng Chuchu) Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Gigafactory held a commencement ceremony today. A CFA reporter learned from the scene that compared to the previous disclosure that production will be put into operation in the first quarter of next year, the Tesla factory will be put into production and delivery as soon as this year. Tesla executives revealed that trial production will be carried out later this year.
(Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Gigafactory held a groundbreaking ceremony today. (Photo by CIFA reporter)
Today, the commencement ceremony of Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Gigafactory was held in Lingang, Shanghai. At the commencement ceremony, Mike Snyder (Mike Snyder), senior director of Tesla's energy and charging business, said via video: “China is an increasingly important energy market and Tesla's strategic focus in the energy sector. With the commencement of construction of our Shanghai energy storage gigafactory and trial production beginning later this year, we have seen good prospects for Megapack products made in China to directly compete in the Chinese market.”
Wu Xiaohua, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Lingang New Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, said: We will help Tesla start construction of the Shanghai Energy Storage Gigafactory this year, put into operation this year, and deliver it this year.
This means that Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Gigafactory targets China's domestic and overseas markets, and will join the “internal volume” of the Chinese energy storage market as early as this year. According to reports, Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Gigafactory will produce Tesla's megapack electrochemical commercial energy storage system. Earlier, the company revealed that the Shanghai plant is expected to be put into operation in the first quarter of 2025, with an estimated annual production capacity of 10,000 units, and an energy storage scale of nearly 40 GWh.
At the event, Tesla and Lingang Group completed the signing of Megapack, the first batch of ultra-large commercial energy storage batteries in China. Deng Haoqiang, deputy general manager of Shanghai Lingang Luchuang Economic Development Co., Ltd., told a reporter from the Financial Association that Lingang Luchuang Company has purchased 8 Megapack energy storage systems with a total capacity of 32 Mwh. They will be delivered within the year to provide safer, greener, and more economical electricity guarantees for Youfu Intelligent Computing Center.
According to information, the Shanghai Energy Storage Gigafactory is also Tesla's first energy storage gigafactory outside the mainland of the United States. Its main product is Megapack, an oversized electrochemical commercial energy storage system. Each unit of the MegaPack energy storage system can store more than 3.9 MWh of energy, enough to meet the electricity needs of 3,600 households for 1 hour, or drive 65 Model 3 rear-wheel drive versions to full power.
This is another major Tesla investment project in China after the Shanghai Gigafactory. A CIFA reporter visited the construction site and learned that the energy storage gigafactory is only one street away from the Tesla Gigafactory. The construction site staff told the Finance Association reporter that it is currently in the piling stage, and the construction plan is underway to start production within the year, using multiple equipment and multiple manpower to carry out work at the same time.
(The site where Tesla's energy storage gigafactory was built. (Photo by CFA reporter)
As the implementation of Tesla's energy storage plant in China accelerates, the industry compared it to a “catfish” in the Chinese energy storage market. Liu Yong, Secretary General of the Energy Storage Application Branch of the China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association, told the Financial Federation reporter that in the domestic market, while Tesla has the advantage of being an international brand, on the one hand, it must cope with price competition and channel resource construction of Chinese energy storage companies, and on the other hand, there is something worth learning about promoting the advancement of integrated technology, safe operation, and after-sales service of domestic energy storage systems.
A Financial Services Association reporter learned from Tesla that Tesla's energy storage products are currently distributed in more than 65 countries and regions around the world. The installed capacity for the full year of 2023 is 14.7 GWh, and the installed capacity in the first quarter of 2024 reached 4.1 GWh, which is one of Tesla's fastest-growing businesses. The latest financial report shows that Tesla's gross profit for the first quarter of 2024 increased 140% year-on-year.
Tesla founder Elon Musk previously stated on the earnings call for the fourth quarter of 2023: “I have been predicting for many years that the energy storage business will grow much faster than the electric vehicle business. It's being realized.”