SHANGHAI: Tesla will build a new facility in Shanghai to make its Megapack batteries, Chinese state media reported on Sunday.

The factory, which will have an initial capacity of 10,000 Megapack units per year, is expected to “start production in the second quarter of 2024”, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The US electric car maker says its Megapacks are intended to store energy and stabilise supply for power grids, with each unit able to store more than three megawatt-hours of power.

The plant will be Tesla’s second factory in the Chinese city after its massive Shanghai Gigafactory, which broke ground in 2019. Lu Yu, a local official, said the new battery factory was expected to create an “industrial cluster” worth more than $14 billion, according to Xinhua.

The announcement comes after Tesla chief Elon Musk presented a vague but ambitious plan to investors to turbocharge growth.

Tesla has hit its stride after years of losses, scoring an impressive string of earnings records as it has added factories and ramped up production.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2023