The rumored production stoppage at Giga Shanghai is addressed by Tesla China

Regarding the rumored cessation of production at Gigafactory Shanghai, Tesla China has provided a response. The manufacturer of electric vehicles made the remarks amid reports in mainstream media claiming that Giga Shanghai has ceased production since Saturday.

The morning shift at Gigafactory Shanghai had been canceled over the weekend. Additionally, the publication claimed that the EV manufacturer had informed all plant employees that they could begin their break. In its report, Reuters cited an internal notice and two sources said to be familiar with the situation as sources of information.

In a proclamation to The Global Times on December 25, Tesla China noticed that reports of the office's stop underway are not completely precise. The vehicle production line at Giga Shanghai would undergo its annual maintenance, Tesla China explained. The workshops that make charging piles at the facility wouldn't stop working either.

“The Shanghai plant will still maintain efficient production and excellent output in 2022. Vehicle production will be carried out as planned for the annual production line maintenance next week (that is, this week). At the same time, after a year of hard work, the workers also took a break during the maintenance period of the production line. The charging piles and other workshops have not stopped, and the media’s statement that the factory has stopped production is not entirely accurate,” Tesla China noted.

Although Tesla China appreciates the explanation, it is not difficult to argue that the electric vehicle manufacturer could have handled its communications better this time. Since the beginning of December, there have been a lot of rumors about the alleged halt in production at Giga Shanghai this month. At the time, all Tesla China really said was that the rumors were "untrue." When the initial reports of the production halt came out, it would have been much better if Tesla China had posted its complete explanation.

The Tesla China communications team's handling of the annual production line maintenance at Giga Shanghai could be seen as a rare oversight because the Chinese team typically handles communication much better than its Western counterpart. For instance, Tesla China has prevailed over the social media trend of alleged Tesla "brake failure" incidents in the past. Tesla China was able to apologise to the media and social media influencers who promoted the "brake failure" narrative in the country thanks, among other things, to assertive legal strategies.