For Tesla, doubling the number of workers living near the production line to maintain "closed-loop" operations remains a challenge, according to a Reuters report.
Reuters previously reported that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) was targeting the Shanghai plant to get production back to pre-lockdown levels on May 16. But the latest report indicated that Tesla has postponed that plan.
Tesla has delayed its plan to return production at its Shanghai plant to pre-Covid lockdown levels in the city by at least a week, Reuters said in a report today, citing an internal memo.
The company plans to keep production at its Shanghai plant at one shift this week, with daily output of about 1,200 units, according to the report.
Tesla said it now aims to increase production to 2,600 units a day from May 23, the report said.
Challenges remain for Tesla to double the number of workers living near the production line to maintain "closed-loop" operations, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
There is also uncertainty on the supply side, as factories in Shanghai and surrounding areas for suppliers and logistics have not yet returned to normal, the report noted.
On May 6, a Reuters report said Tesla was aiming to run two shifts at its Shanghai plant from May 16 to bring factory output back to pre-lockdown levels in the city.
Tesla hoped to be able to produce 2,600 electric vehicles a day at Giga Shanghai starting May 16, the previous report said.
Tesla's Giga Shanghai halted production when the city went into a phased lockdown from March 28, and officially began resuming production on April 19. The plant lost about 50,000 units of production during the production halt.
Tesla's Shanghai plant officially resumed production on April 19, with 8,000 employees returning to their jobs, according to local media reports.
Tesla China produced 10,757 vehicles in April, with wholesale sales of 1,512 units, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on May 10.
Tesla's Shanghai plant did not export any vehicles in April, according to the CPCA.
Compared to March's 65,814 wholesale sales, Tesla's China-made vehicle sales were down 64,302, or 97.7 percent, in April.
Tesla fared worse than its major peers in China, as it is at the epicenter of this round of Covid outbreaks in China.
Shanghai's next Covid prevention and control will be divided into three phases, with the goal of fully restoring normal life and company production order from June 1 to mid-to-late June, local officials said at a briefing today.