Shanghai Gigafactory, Tesla’s main production center, announced that it will suspend its operations for two days. Tesla’s latest decision follows new Covid-19 pandemic measures, which are forcing China to impose strict security restrictions once again.
The temporary pause in the activities of the electric vehicle manufacturing plant was revealed in a memo to company employees and suppliers. Thanks to its superior autonomous system, Shanghai Gigafactory, which works almost every hour of the day, seems to cause disruptions in Tesla’s vehicle target.
Tesla China factory was caught in the Covid-19 barrier
In the statement sent to the employees within the company the other day, it was stated that the pause in Shanghai Gigafactory will last from Wednesday to Thursday. Tesla did not specify the reason behind the shutdown and whether the shutdown would affect all operations. However, the manufacturer is thought to be following the Covid-19 measures implemented by the Chinese government.
In another note to its Chinese factory suppliers, Tesla asked how many employees would be needed to reach full production targets again. Suppliers were also requested to provide details on how their employees have been impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions.
China is dealing with the Omicron BA.2 variant, which is about 30 percent more infectious than the original Omicron BA.1. Factories have been closed across the country, and in Shanghai, authorities have asked citizens to stay in quarantine at their homes or workplaces from 2 days to 14 days. This time will be used for Covid-19 tests and contact tracing.
A similar move came from Chinese manufacturer Foxconn a few days ago. The manufacturer, which stopped its production line in Shenzhen, announced that it took a quarantine decision at its Longhua and Guanlan factories. Foxconn is the most important supplier of companies such as Apple and Samsung.
Shanghai Gigafactory plays an important role in Tesla’s operations, supplying Model 3 and Model Y to Asia and Europe. The facility accounted for about half of the 936,000 vehicles Tesla delivered worldwide last year alone. Tesla China managed to produce 56,515 models in February 2022, of which 33,315 were exported.
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