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Tesla Giga Shanghai Is Closed Until April 7: It's Been 12 Days Since Production Stopped

When we wrote that Giga Shanghai would halt production on March 28, we said Elon Musk would never defy the Chinese government, call it fascist, and dare Chinese authorities to arrest him. He did all that when Alameda County authorities ordered production at Fremont to stop. Tesla apologists said he was protesting for almost one month without making cars while China would just stop for four days. That did not age well.
Tesla Giga Shanghai 6 photos
Photo: Tesla
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Tesla will have to wait at least until Friday to reopen Giga Shanghai. The information came from Bloomberg, which found out from sources that preferred not to identify themselves. Considering that Shanghai is now the epicenter of COVID-19 infection in China, the production suspension may take even longer to end.

Chinese authorities ordered massive testing on Shanghai’s 25 million residents last April 3. The three-day testing process ended on April 5. As recent infections take a while to manifest and to be detectable, it would not be far-fetched to expect these folks to have to wait at least two weeks to get back to their everyday lives. In other words, they could eventually be allowed to work again only by April 20.

So far, the company has already lost 12 days of manufacturing. If the Chinese government does not allow it to reopen soon, Tesla will have its factory halted for more time than it previously expected. Right now, the Shanghai lockdown has been extended indefinitely. That means that Tesla's hope to start making cars again on April 8 is almost a fantasy.

Predictably, the lockdown is affecting much more companies. Semiconductor factories have no way to ship their products because there are no truck drivers to carry them, with all people having to stay at home to prevent the virus from spreading. The impact on the Chinese economy will be severe if the government sticks with the policy of avoiding contamination at all costs. With 1.7 billion citizens to handle, it may be a wise decision. Musk will probably applaud it.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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