US electric car manufacturer Tesla has informed its shareholders that it has entered into negotiations with officials in China in an effort to build electric cars and battery packs in Shanghai. Tesla which was founded by South African entrepreneur Elon Musk has come under fire in the US in recent months following a series of collisions, some fatal involving Tesla models.
However, the head of worldwide sales at Tesla, Robin Ren has candidly disclosed the details of the company's planned location for its second 'Gigafactory'.
Ren said, "We are incredibly excited to build the first Gigafactory outside the US in China, specifically it is going to be in Shanghai. We've engaged in very encouraging and positive discussions with government officials in China - and we hope that we'll be in a position very soon to share more details about our new Shanghai plant."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk fielded questions from shareholders and said that if the company was going to make affordable vehicles it was imperative it localized production to at least a continent level.
In addition to this, it was disclosed that Telsa had identified a spot for a Gigafactory in Europe by the end of this year, according to its chief, who added that the company ultimately expects to have 10 to 12 such plants worldwide.
Gigafactories will produce battery packs and cars on site, according to Musk. Tesla's gigafactory in the US state of Nevada makes batteries for the company's cars, which are built in northern California.
Tesla last month Musk told employees the electric carmaker is being reorganized to speed up production of Model 3 vehicles -- a key to profitability at the fast-growing firm.
In a memo sent to employees that was subsequently leaked to media sources revealed the company was set to undergo structural change.
"To ensure that Tesla is well prepared for the future, we have been undertaking a thorough reorganization of our company. As part of the reorg, we are flattening the management structure to improve communication, combining functions where sensible and trimming activities that are not vital to the success of our mission."
During an earnings call in May, Musk said Tesla was on the road to hitting goals in coming months for the more affordable Model 3 and achieving profitability by the end of this year.