Tesla suspends production at Shanghai plant

Published December 25, 2022
TESLA China-made Model 3 vehicles are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai on 
Jan 7, 2020.—Reuters
TESLA China-made Model 3 vehicles are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai on Jan 7, 2020.—Reuters

SHANGHAI: Tesla suspended production at its Shanghai plant on Saturday, according to an internal notice and two people with knowledge of the matter, bringing ahead a previous plan to pause most work at the plant in the last week of December.

The US automaker cancelled the morning shift and told all workers at its most productive manufacturing hub they could start their break, said the people and the notice seen by Reuters. The company did not give a reason.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the electric car giant planned to suspend Model Y production at the plant from Dec 25 to Jan. 1.

The suspension comes among a rising wave of infections after China eased its zero-Covid policy earlier this month, an abrupt move welcomed by businesses and the public but heavily disrupting business operations in the short term.

One of the people said workers at Tesla and its suppliers have also been falling sick as part of this wave, posing challenges to operations in the past week.

Tesla is also grappling with elevated inventory levels as its second largest market braces for a downturn.

The Shanghai plant has been focused on making models for export in the last week, the person added.

A media representative at Tesla China did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The plants suspension of Model Y assembly at the end of the month would be part of a cut in planned production of about 30pc in the month for the model, Tesla’s best-selling model, at the Shanghai factory, Reuters had reported.

The Shanghai factory, the most important manufacturing hub for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, kept normal operations during the last week of December last year.

It has not been an established practice for the plant to shut down for a year-end holiday.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2022

Opinion

Revamping the ecosystem

Revamping the ecosystem

Key to high-quality performance of public sector institutions lies in attracting, retaining and motivating civil servants of high calibre throughout the system.

Editorial

Rain havoc
Updated 19 Jul, 2025

Rain havoc

Thursday’s events must be seen not as an isolated disaster, but as a warning of what lies ahead.
Shattered Strip
19 Jul, 2025

Shattered Strip

THE Gaza siege has now crossed 650 days and the situation continues to take one ugly turn after another. True, even...
Battling drugs
19 Jul, 2025

Battling drugs

PAKISTAN’s war on drug trafficking has been ongoing for several years. But the country remains awash in the ...
Soaring again
Updated 18 Jul, 2025

Soaring again

The lifting of the ban by the UK will lead to several welcome developments.
Terror in Kalat
18 Jul, 2025

Terror in Kalat

THE unrest in Balochistan is increasingly taking on an ugly and dangerous colour, with repeated, indiscriminate...
Economic exclusion
18 Jul, 2025

Economic exclusion

FOR all the progress made in Pakistan towards the inclusion of women across the sociopolitical divide, comprehensive...