When Tesla Model Ys are delivered in Europe these days, they almost certainly come from the new Gigafactory in Grünheide near Berlin. In fact, the first two private customers reported this week, even one Got Model Y in the Long Range variant from Germany to have. For the time being, however, the Model 3 will only come to Europe from the Tesla factory in China. Production of the Model Y was temporarily suspended there in July in order to be converted for even higher quantities. But a record number of Model 3s are currently ready for transport by ship in the nearby port.
Tesla rebuilds factory in China
For this June, which was still characterized by corona restrictions at the beginning, reported Tesla ultimately set the record production of 70,928 electric cars in China. Almost 78,000 Model 3 and Model Y were sold domestically in the same month, also more than ever before. In July it should be less again because Tesla is pausing different parts of the factory – to increase its capacity to more than 1 million electric cars per year.
There were initially different statements about the duration and extent of the necessary conversion work. It now seems to be confirmed that the production of the Model Y was initially suspended from the second week of July. It is said to have started again on Friday and thus a little earlier than expected. According to the suspected Tesla planning, the interruption in Model 3 would be planned for this Monday, which should even last 20 days. The new China capacity for the Model Y should be 14,000 units per week, for the Model 3 from the second week of August 7700 units, reported Bloomberg.
However, before the Model 3 break was due, the Tesla factory showed once again if it could do it now if no corona lockdowns intervened. At the end of last week, drone observer Wu Wa filmed a good 3,000 Teslas on the site of the nearby Luchao port in Shanghai, and by the end of this week another 4,000 were added. They all appear to be Model 3s, so the video footage confirms reports of a suspension in Model Y production earlier this month.
7000 Model 3 only for Europe?
At the same time, other observers reported on Twitter that a ship is already waiting in the port to bring the new Model 3 to Europe – the Morning Chorus docked there on Thursday and would be the first for the new quarter. The drone filmmaker Wu Wa himself suspected that part of the Model 3 is intended for export to Australia. With this country as well as New Zealand, Singapore and Japan have to deal European Tesla customers recently share the replenishment of Model Y from China. However, the ship expert @VedaPrime assumed that a port further north would be used for exports to Asia/Pacific. In addition to the Morning Chorus, another ship could bring thousands of Model 3s from early July production to European customers.