Tesla Model 3 Starts Trial Production At Shanghai Gigafactory 3 [Watch]

The most recent leaks about the progress of construction and assembly at Tesla's Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai seem to prove Elon Musk might have gotten his timeframe right this time around.

In June, the Tesla CEO said the company intends to produce 3,000 Model 3s per week by the end of the year at its mammoth Tesla Gigafactory 3 in China which is still under construction. He also said Giga Shanghai aims to be ready for production by the end of September with the first Tesla electric vehicles (EVs) rolling off the assembly lines in November.

Giga Shanghai will assemble the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. It will also produce complicated electric battery packs for these electric vehicles (EVs).

Now, leaked images show the interior of Giga Shanghai and, for the first time, reveal Tesla is already making the necessary preparations for trial production runs of its Model 3. Tesla continues the rapid installation of manufacturing equipment and robots at the factory.

The 23 second-long video shows equipment at what appears to be one of the assembly lines. Production robots are visible.

Recent Giga Shanghai leaks on Chinese social media platform Weibo from “Battery King” (an electric car enthusiast) reveal a largely complete section of Giga Shanghai. More important, these images show two partly-built Model 3s on an assembly line surrounded by various types of equipment.

Analysts said the photos show the factory stands ready to begin trial assemblies of the Model 3. Considering groundbreaking for this sophisticated factory only began in January, the production of two test vehicles in the space of just eight months is nothing short of incredible.

The speed of Giga Shanghai’s construction is amazing by any standard given the immense size and complexity of the facility. Construction of the massive general assembly building is expected to be completed in a few months.

Tesla announced the deal to build Gigafactory 3 with the Shanghai municipal government only in October 2018. Groundbreaking for the plant, which Musk attended, took place in January.

In June, Musk said Gigafactory 3 is on schedule to complete construction by this summer. He believes Giga Shanghai is the fastest built car manufacturing facility ever.

Musk at the time said Tesla was already installing production equipment including “stamping machines, and the paint shop.”

Gigafactory 3 complex has a size of 865,000 square meters. The project contractor is China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., a unit of state-owned China State Construction Engineering.