Tesla halts production at Gigafactory Shanghai as the city shuts down due to surge in COVID-19 cases

Tesla is reportedly halting production for four days at Gigafactory Shanghai as the city is going into a lockdown due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

It’s the second time that Tesla’s production at its biggest factory is shutting down this quarter.

China is currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, and Shanghai appears to be at its center as most new cases nationwide came from the city.

On Sunday, the city of 26 million people reported 3,500 new cases, which they detect through mass testing as 3,450 of those cases are listed as asymptomatic.

In order to try to limit the spread, the Shanghai government announced a two-stage lockdown of the city today. Firms and factories are expected to shut down throughout the city.

Tesla operates the largest electric vehicle factory in the world in Shanghai, and it is also expected to be affected.

Reuters reports that Tesla is shutting Gigafactory Shanghai down for four days:

US automaker Tesla is suspending production at its Shanghai factory for four days after the financial hub said on Sunday it would lock down in two stages to carry out mass testing for COVID 19, two people familiar with the matter said.

According to the report, Tesla tried to create a “closed-loop” with employees that were there on Sunday, but they had to let them go back home after realizing that they “did not have enough provisions for them.”

Gigafactory Shanghai is located in the part of the city that is affected by the first stage of the lockdown, which starts now and lasts until Friday.

Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai was already affected by a brief shutdown earlier this month due to COVID-19 restrictions.

It’s hard to determine how exactly it will affect Tesla’s performance.

At the end of the quarter, the factory produces cars for local deliveries, and just a few days of the plant being shut down could result in thousands of deliveries being delayed.