Tesla has officially launched a project for a massive battery factory in Shanghai - the US electric carmaker's second plant in the Chinese city, state media reported.
The project was announced in April after Tesla chief Elon Musk presented investors with a vague but ambitious plan to accelerate growth.
Company officials have signed an agreement to acquire land for the factory on the outskirts of Shanghai, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The plant is expected to produce 10,000 units of Tesla's Megapack batteries annually and "start construction in the first quarter of 2024 and begin production in the fourth quarter," Xinhua said.
The American electric car maker claims its Megapack batteries are designed to store energy and stabilize supplies for power grids, with each unit capable of storing more than 3-megawatt hours of energy.
The plant will be Tesla's second in the Chinese city, following the massive Gigafactory in Shanghai, which broke ground in 2019.
Musk visited China earlier this year, meeting with senior officials in Beijing and visiting the Shanghai Gigafactory.
Musk's interests in China have long caused astonishment in Washington, with President Joe Biden declaring in November that his ties with foreign countries are "worthy" of scrutiny./BGNES
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