U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc. is establishing a “major” engineering team in China for its Shanghai assembly plant, according to CEO Elon Musk.
The team will focus on developing software for the factory and its products, Musk tweeted last week.
“This includes original engineering of new factory processes and cars,” Musk said of the team in his Sept. 25 tweet. “Great engineers will only join if original engineering is supported, not just job localization.”
Factory construction is complete, equipment installation has begun and production is on track to launch at year end, Ma Chunlei, Shanghai city government’s deputy secretary-general, said in July at a press briefing.
After the plant begins production, its capacity will gradually increase to around 3,000 vehicles a week, Ma said. The first product will be the Model 3 sedan, he said.
In July 2018, the Shanghai government approved Tesla to build a 14 billion yuan ($2 billion) assembly plant in the city’s Pudong New Area.
