Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Super Factory held its groundbreaking ceremony today. According to reports from Caixin, compared to the previous disclosure of production starting in the first quarter of next year, Tesla's factory may start production and delivery as early as this year, with Tesla executives revealing plans for trial production later this year.
Today, the groundbreaking ceremony for Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Super Factory was held in Lingang, Shanghai. During the ceremony, Mike Snyder, Senior Director of Energy and Charging Business at Tesla, stated via video, "China is an increasingly important energy market and a strategic focus for Tesla in the energy sector. With the construction of our Shanghai Energy Storage Super Factory underway and trial production set to begin later this year, we see promising prospects for our Megapack products manufactured in China to directly participate in the Chinese market competition."
Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Lingang New Area, China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone, Wu Xiaohua, stated: "We will support Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Super Factory to start construction, commence production, and deliver products all within this year."
This signifies that Tesla's Shanghai Energy Storage Super Factory is targeting both the domestic and overseas markets in China, potentially entering the competitive energy storage market as early as this year.
The Tesla Shanghai Energy Storage Super Factory is set to produce Tesla's large-scale electrochemical commercial energy storage system, Megapack. The company previously disclosed that the Shanghai factory is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2025, with an estimated annual capacity of 10,000 units and a storage capacity of nearly 40GWh.
During the event, Tesla and Lingang Group signed the contract for the first batch of Megapack commercial energy storage batteries in China. Deng Haoqiang, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Lingang Green Development Limited Company, stated to Caixin reporters that the company purchased 8 Megapack energy storage systems with a total capacity of 32MWh, which will be delivered within the year to provide a safer, greener, and more cost-effective power supply for the Youfu Smart Computing Center.
The Shanghai Energy Storage Super Factory is Tesla's first energy storage super factory outside the United States, focusing on the production of Megapack, a large-scale electrochemical commercial energy storage system. Each Megapack unit can store over 3.9MWh of energy, enough to meet the one-hour electricity demand of 3,600 households or power 65 Model 3 rear-wheel-drive versions for a full charge.
This marks another major investment project for Tesla in China following the Shanghai Super Factory. Caixin reporters visited the construction site and learned that the energy storage super factory is located just a street away from the Tesla Super Factory. Construction workers on-site mentioned that the project is currently in the piling stage, with construction planning to commence production within the year, employing multiple devices and personnel simultaneously.
With the accelerated establishment of Tesla's energy storage factory in China, industry insiders liken 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, mentioned to Caixin reporters that while Tesla enjoys an international brand advantage in the domestic market, it needs to address price competition and channel resource development from Chinese energy storage companies. Moreover, Tesla can contribute to advancing domestic energy storage system integration technology, safe operation, and after-sales service.
According to information from Tesla, their energy storage products are currently deployed in over 65 countries and regions worldwide. The installed capacity for the full year of 2023 reached 14.7GWh, with the first quarter of 2024 seeing an installed capacity of 4.1GWh, making it one of Tesla's fastest-growing businesses. The latest financial report shows that Tesla's gross profit from the energy storage business in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 140% year-on-year.
Tesla's founder, Elon Musk, previously stated during the fourth-quarter 2023 earnings call: "For years, I have been predicting that the growth rate of the energy storage business will far exceed that of the electric vehicle business. It is happening."
