After a profitable year in 2022, Tesla has once again reported record-breaking production and deliveries partly due to its substantial price cuts in major markets. Tesla enthusiasts who monitor the activities in Giga Shanghai suggest that the automaker is ready to export huge fleets of Model 3 and Model Y from Shanghai’s Southport Terminal on the eve of Chinese New Year.
Export operations in Giga Shanghai – January 19 and January 29
Drone operator Wu Wa produces video content focusing on the Tesla Giga Shanghai factory. He revealed that Tesla has recently resumed stocking Chinese ports with EVs for export in one of his most recent vlogs.
Remarkably, thousands of Tesla EVs were loaded to travel to their new owners in other countries not long after they arrived and filled the port. The EVs were put onto ships on January 19, 2023, in the middle of China’s Spring Festival. You can watch Wu Wa’s footage below:
Ten days later, Wu Wa flew a drone back to the terminal, showing virtually no Tesla EVs remaining anywhere at Shanghai’s Southport Terminal.
“On the second day of the Chinese Spring Festival holiday, Tesla has been emptied at Shanghai’s Nangang terminal, and there is no longer a Tesla to be seen at the port. Tesla Shanghai factory has resumed work today (January 29) …”
Wu Wa
You can check the footage below:
Tesla price cuts boosted sales
Tesla’s price cuts in the US and China substantially impacted demand, which has increased as more customers take advantage of the discounts.
Notably, Giga Shanghai’s significant upgrades in late 2022 have made the factory practically capable of producing more cars than Tesla regularly sells both locally and internationally.
That said, it is not surprising that Tesla is increasing exports yet again from its major export hub in China.
Another interesting fact is that Tesla seems to have adjusted its production and delivery procedures to start the year 2023. Right away, the automaker increased delivery and lowered pricing in China and the US. It was a deviation from the company’s prior approach of catching up on deliveries towards the end of the quarter and the year. It is possible that the objective is to raise the numbers to a point where they would be easier to maintain during the rest of the year.
All that said, Tesla is indeed aggressively attempting to hit its target of between 1.8 and 2 million vehicles produced for FY 2023. Nonetheless, only time will tell whether Tesla will be as successful as it was in 2022.
