By Michael Elkins
According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is preparing to suspend most of its production at its electric vehicle giga-plant in Shanghai, China. It appears that the reasoning behind the partial pause is to perform upgrades to the site. According to the memo, the pause will last the first two weeks in July.
The main purpose of the upgrade is to expand the Model Y production line, which will have a daily capacity of about 2,000 vehicles. After the upgrade, the U.S. automaker aims to boost the plant's output to a new record high by the end of July to get closer to its goal of producing 22,000 cars per week
A two-month-long COVID lockdown in Shanghai delayed Tesla's original plan of reaching production of 8,000 Model 3s and 14,000 Model Ys per week at the Shanghai plant by mid-May.
The factory is recovering from a 22-day shutdown in April due to Covid restrictions in the area. The factory was able to produce 10,757 vehicles that month.