In a best-case scenario Giga Shanghai will reach pre-Covid outbreak capacity levels by mid-May, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Despite earlier reports that 's Shanghai plant will resume work today, the process doesn't appear to be that easy.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) did not directly confirm that the Shanghai plant will resume work today, saying only that the company will actively fight the Covid outbreak and arrange for all the resumption of production as required by the government, according to local media Jiemian.

But an internal Tesla staffer said, "We're still preparing," according to the report.

Earlier today, Reuters reported that manufacturers, including Tesla, began preparations Monday to reopen their Shanghai plants.

To prepare for the restart, Tesla has recalled workers to its Shanghai plant who are required to live on site, in line with China's "closed-loop management" process, the report said.

Tesla Giga Shanghai has shut down several times following the Covid outbreak in Shanghai, stopping production for two days from March 16 to 17.

Production at Giga Shanghai has been suspended so far since Shanghai entered a phased lockdown on March 28, the longest since the plant began production in late 2019.

Last week rumors surfaced that Tesla said in an answer to a US investor that Giga Shanghai would not resume work until mid-May at the earliest, with the parts supply chain resuming at that time.

Shanghai Securities News on April 15 cited sources in Tesla China as saying the rumors were false.

Shanghai issued guidelines yesterday to help companies in the city return to work under Covid prevention, three weeks after the city went into lockdown.

According to the newly released list of the first 666 key companies in Shanghai that can resume production, Tesla is among them and is listed as a company that must resume work.

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, tweeted yesterday details he learned of Tesla's plans to resume work at Giga Shanghai, saying the plant will resume production as early as April 18 and in a best-case scenario will reach pre-Covid outbreak capacity levels by mid-May.