Electric car manufacturer Tesla is moving forward with a controversial plan to build a new battery factory in China.
The new facility in Shanghai will not build auto parts but instead focus on energy-storage batteries for public and corporate infrastructure, according to Chinese state-owned media.
The new facility will produce 10,000 Tesla Megabucks per year, which will be sold worldwide. The Megapacks are rechargeable lithium-ion energy storage units. Each Megapack is approximately the size of a cargo shipping container and can hold 3.9 megawatt-hours of electricity.
Energy storage is becoming an increasingly important issue as solar and wind power gain in popularity, as those energy sources only generate power when weather conditions are favorable. As such, they rely on stored energy at times when there is not adequate sun or wind coverage.
Tesla Ties to China Examined
China is in the midst of an economic slowdown, as the CCP’s authoritarian policies, rampant corruption, and an aging population have combined to scare away foreign investments on a record scale.China remains a major manufacturing center for Tesla, however, and the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, has built close ties with CCP officials even as U.S.-China relations sour.
Mr. Musk met met with the regime’s commerce and foreign ministers in Beijing last May, where he expressed a desire to “deepen mutually beneficial cooperation” with China.
It was not the only time the billionaire entrepreneur has courted controversy for his relations with the regime, which Mr. Musk has described as being on “team humanity.”
In September, Taiwanese officials condemned Mr. Musk for expressing the CCP’s view that the independent island is an “integral part of China.”
The CCP claims Taiwan is a rogue province of China, though the regime has never actually controlled any part of the island. The United States formally recognizes, but does not endorse, the CCP’s claims, and maintains agreements with Taiwan to sell the island’s democratic government weapons for its self-defense.
Millions of Tesla Vehicles Recalled
The move to establish a new facility in China also comes at a critical time for Tesla, which is facing multiple crises including falling sales, lawsuits, recalls, and labor strikes.Tesla has slowed production of its vehicles in recent months as consumer interest in electric cars wanes more generally.
The company was also recently forced to recall 2 million vehicles in the United States and 200,000 vehicles in Canada after a safety regulator faulted the company for not installing new safeguards into its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system.
The recall resulted in part from a years-long investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into allegations that Tesla vehicles do not adequately ensure that drivers pay attention when using Autopilot.
Tesla acknowledged in a recall filing that Autopilot’s software system controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse” and could increase the risk of a crash.
Similarly, a separate recall saw the company take some 55,000 U.S. vehicles off the roads due to a failure to adequately gauge brake fluid levels.
The company is also being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly misleading investors about its vehicles’ driving ranges, which may fluctuate with environmental temperatures.
On the labor front, mechanics, postal and transport workers in Europe began a strike against the company in October, stemming from Tesla’s refusal to comply with unionization demands common in Europe.
Mr. Musk sued Sweden’s postal service for its involvement in the strike, but lost an appeal on the issue earlier this month, a judgement that effectively blocked Tesla from delivering new cars to its customers in the country.
The company has until Jan. 18 to challenge the court ruling.
