A truck transports new Tesla cars at its plant in Shanghai, China, May 13, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
SHANGHAI, April 3 – Tesla (TSLA.O) aims to resume production at its Shanghai factory from Monday, two sources familiar with the matter said, as it expects its first batch of workers from a City release lockdown imposed to combat surge in COVID-19 cases
Production at the US automaker’s Shanghai factory, which makes cars for the Chinese market and is also a major export hub, has been halted since March 28 when the government instituted a two-stage lockdown covering areas east of the Huangpu River the city began where Tesla’s facility is located.
Still, Tesla’s resume plans could change due to the evolving COVID-19 guidelines in Shanghai, one of the sources told Reuters.
Tesla originally hoped to halt operations for just four days, but canceled Friday and Saturday production plans after authorities extended strict restrictions on movement in the city’s eastern half. Almost all of Shanghai is currently locked down.
The seven-day hiatus is one of the longest since the factory started production in late 2019. Tesla is making 6,000 Model 3 cars and 10,000 Model Y cars a week at its Shanghai plant, one of the people said.
Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“This has been an *exceptionally* difficult quarter due to supply chain disruptions and the China-zero Covid policy,” its chief executive Elon Musk said in a tweet on Saturday.
Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Jacqueline Wong