Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been expanding capacity vigorously to meet surging demand for its electric vehicles. Giga Berlin, aka Giga 4, was officially opened in late March, marking the EV maker's first plant in Europe.
Come next week, Tesla will have its Giga Texas up and running, with the grand opening party named "Cyber Rodeo" scheduled for Thursday.
Against this backdrop, here's a look back at how much return Tesla shares would have generated for an investor since the opening of its Giga Shanghai:
Giga Shanghai – A Vital Cog In Tesla's Growth Story: Tesla's third Giga and the first outside the U.S. is located near Shanghai, China's commercial capital. The company received the go ahead to build the facility from the Shanghai municipal administration in July 2018. Construction began in earnest in December of the same year.
Tesla commenced production of its budget vehicle - the Model 3 cars - at the plant in October 2019. Reports indicate that it took merely 168 working days to complete construction of the factory from the day the permits were secured. First deliveries from the Giga Shanghai began on Jan. 7, 2020.
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The Shanghai plant now has an annual production capacity of 450,000 cars, and with the expansion that is currently underway, the company targets annual capacity of over 1 million vehicles from the plant alone. Currently, the company manufactures Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs at its Giga Shanghai.
It is rumored that Tesla is contemplating a new plant, adjacent to its current Giga Shanghai. When this plant comes online, Tesla will likely be equipped to churn out about 2 million cars from China alone.
Giga Shanghai vests another advantage for Tesla, as cars that roll off the production line at the factory have higher margin as compared to those manufactured in the U.S. This is due to the relatively cheap labor and the lithium-iron-phosphate batteries the company uses for the cars manufactured in China.
Tesla has also designated Giga Shanghai as its export hub. With the opening of Giga Berlin inordinately delayed, the Model Y vehicles sold in Europe were shipped out of China.
More importantly, China is seen as key for maintaining Tesla's growth amid intensifying competition, both from a demand and supply perspective.
How Tesla Stock Has Fared Since Giga Shanghai Came Online: Tesla's shares were at $90.31 on Jan. 6, 2020, a day ahead of commencement of first customer deliveries of its Model 3 sedans manufactured at Giga Shanghai. Tesla implemented its first stock split, in the ratio of 5-to-1, on Aug. 31, 2020. The stock price has been back-adjusted for this split.
And Tesla closed Friday's session at $1,084.59.
A $1,000 invested in Tesla shares on Jan. 6, 2020 would have fetched roughly 11 shares. The same 11 shares would be priced at $11,931 currently. This would mean a return of 1,193% in a little over two years. This compares to the 40% the S&P 500 Index returned during the same period.
Photo: Courtesy of tesla.com
