Tesla delivered a record 310,048 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter of 2022, up 68% year over year.
Shanghai factory
The electric car company’s sales rose, more than expectations of 308,836 cars, driven by increased production at its factory in the Chinese city of Shanghai, which was suspended for days following the city was closed to combat the rise in cases of the Covid-19 virus.
Tesla told workers and suppliers on Sunday that production at its Shanghai factory would not resume on Monday, as it had hoped.
“This has been an exceptionally difficult quarter due to supply chain disruptions and China’s Zero Covid policy,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet. “The outstanding work of the Tesla team and key suppliers saved the situation.”
Production at the Shanghai plant, which produces cars for the Chinese market and is also an important export hub, has been halted since March 28, as the government launched a two-phase shutdown that began in areas east of the city’s Huangpu River where Tesla’s plant is located.
The electric car maker suspended production at the plant for 7 days due to the shutdowns, the longest stoppage since the plant began production in late 2019.
Tesla originally hoped to stop operations for only 4 days, but canceled production plans for Friday and Saturday following authorities expanded tight restrictions on movement in the eastern half of the city, and currently all areas of Shanghai are under lockdown.
Tesla Corporation
The Shanghai factory is considered one of Tesla’s most important factories, since China is the company’s second largest market and cars from this factory are exported to Europe and elsewhere in Asia.
Tesla makes 6,000 Model 3 and 10,000 Model Y cars a week at its factory in Shanghai, delivering 56,515 cars from the factory in February alone with 23,200 for the domestic market and 33,315 for export, the China Passenger Car Association reported earlier this month.
The company recently stated that it is making efforts to ensure continued production at the factory, while “cooperating with the government’s request to conduct PCR tests to limit the spread of Covid-19.”
Musk’s fortune was $287.6 billion on April 3, according to Forbes estimates.
