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Exclusive-Shanghai authorities stepped up to help Tesla reopen factory, letter shows -Breaking

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© Reuters. FILEPHOTO: Tesla China Model 3 vehicles were seen at a Tesla factory delivery in Shanghai on January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Shanghai authorities assisted Tesla (NASDAQ;) in transporting over 6,000 employees and carrying out disinfection work necessary to reopen the factory after it was locked down last month. This is according to a letter Tesla wrote to local officials that was seen by Reuters.

The May 1 letter to Lingang Special Area officials in Shanghai detailed the efforts made to support Tesla. This demonstrates the importance of the U.S. automobilemaker to Shanghai.

After a 22-day shutdown, Tesla’s Shanghai factory was reopened on April 19. State media covered the event extensively.

Tesla expressed gratitude to Lingang staff for supporting the project. The Lingang Group managed buses that transported 6,000 employees of Tesla to the factory and also performed the disinfection necessary for it to be “closed-loop” production.

Tesla wrote that the workers had fought three days straight, and worked non-stop for the guarantee of our factory’s workers returning to work.

In the letter, Tesla also explained how it planned to expand its Shanghai plant. This confirms a Reuters report from February.

A new facility will be built by the company on the site. The plant, with Model 3s and Model Ys included, is expected to increase the annual production of the region’s 450,000-car capacity.

Tesla previously stated that the Shanghai plant produced 484,100 vehicles in 2021.

Tesla and Shanghai’s government didn’t immediately reply to inquiries for comment.

Many factories closed after Shanghai was placed under lockdown in March due to the spreading of COVID. Some factories have reopened, but it has been difficult to get workers back as there are still restrictions.

Based on calculations based Reuters’s Tesla output plans, this 22-day shutdown at the Shanghai Tesla factory caused an outage loss of over 50,000 vehicles.

Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y models are made in Shanghai to serve the Chinese market. It also acts as an export hub for Germany, Japan and Germany.

This strong support for Shanghai comes as Tesla went through a tough year last year with authorities, where it was under investigation over product quality and data security.

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