Tesla‘s planned expansion of Gigafactory Shanghai in China has been delayed amidst data concerns on Starlink, The Business Times reports citing two sources familiar with the matter.
It is worth noting that Giga Shanghai has grown significantly since its development in 2019. It has been named Tesla’s largest production plant in terms of volume, which serves as the automakers’ central export hub.
Data concerns
A US firm with ties to Elon Musk‘s Starlink holding such a significant footprint in the nation raised some concerns from some central government officials in China.
As of now, there are no Starlink satellite internet installations in any of Tesla’s cars. Nonetheless, Beijing tightens data security and social stability safeguards in light of the possibility that Starlink would enable users to breach the Great Firewall of the nation.
What might have triggered the delay?
The report noted that the Giga Shanghai expansion’s delay came to light at a time of rising public outrage with Tesla and tensions between Washington and Beijing.
In retrospect, Tesla owners in China flocked to dealerships in a rage after losing another round of price reductions in early 2021. At the same time, China restricted Tesla EVs from entering military complexes and housing complexes.
As per the report, China decided to ban Tesla EVs in the said areas at that time as concerns regarding its camera’s ability to gather sensitive data.
Unfortunately, no comments were made by either party.
Giga Shanghai’s expansion progress
Remarkably, the first two phases of Gigafactory Shanghai’s expansion are complete. In fact, over 1 million vehicles can reportedly be produced there annually, as per current estimates.
In the meanwhile, the third phase of construction would require substantial work. It is expected to boost the automaker’s production to near the 2 million mark.
Given how frequently Elon Musk has called out such allegations as fake in the past, it would be advisable to view this most recent report for the time being as unconfirmed.
