Tesla failed to re-open Shanghai factory as planned; Extends production suspension over COVID-19 surge

Tesla was not able to open its factory in Shanghai this week due to the continuous surge of COVID-19 cases in the country. The plant was reportedly supposed to resume production today, April 4.

According to Reuters, the electric car maker issued a notice to its workers and suppliers, telling them that the Shanghai plant will not resume its operation on Monday as initially planned. The publication said that this was the message in the internal notice that was shared with them the past weekend.

On Sunday, Reuters said that Tesla was aiming to re-start production today as it is expecting its first batch of workers to be released from Shanghai’s lockdown that was imposed throughout the city in an effort to stop the ballooning COVID-19 cases. However, the re-opening plan has been scrapped and there is no additional advice as to when the production suspension is set to be lifted.

The work at Tesla’s facility in the said Chinese city has been suspended since March 28, and it has already been a week since its closure, so it is worrisome now. This is because the cars being produced here are not only for the Chinese market but for export as well.

The shutting of the EV company’s factory in Shanghai was due to the government’s 2-stage lockdown order. It started in the areas across the city’s east of Huangpu River, where the Tesla factory is located.

Moreover, Elon Musk’s electric car company originally hoped that the plant would only be closed for a maximum of four days, but on Friday and Saturday, the site remained closed as the government extended the restrictions to half of the city. Almost the entire Shanghai is in lockdown at this moment.

Bloomberg reported that in response to the prolonged lockdown, Tesla told its workers to remain at home and follow the community orders. Shanghai launched a new round of mass testing today as officials recorded over 8,000 new COVID infections in the city last Saturday, with 7,788 individuals being asymptomatic.

Finally, while Tesla is not able to issue a comment on this report, the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, said via a tweet that the COVID-Zero policies in China coupled with supply chain interruptions made the firm’s Q1 “exceptionally difficult.” The CEO made this comment after Tesla announced a record number of cars.