Elon Musk in China to lay foundation of first Tesla plant outside US

Elon Musk signed a preliminary agreement with the Shanghai government to build a Tesla Gigafactory in China.

Beijing: Electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday said he was set to lay the foundation of a Tesla Gigafactory in China that is expected to produce 500,000 electric vehicles per year -- doubling the production capacity of Tesla. "Looking forward to breaking ground on the @Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory today!" tweeted Musk.

"Aiming to finish initial construction this summer, start Model 3 production end of year & reach high volume production next year," he said, adding that "Shanghai Giga production of Model 3/Y will serve greater China region". Bullish on his Chinese dream, Musk last July said he had excellent meetings with senior country leaders and will aim to invest long-term in the country.

He signed a preliminary agreement with the Shanghai government to build a Tesla Gigafactory in China. Musk had earlier said that China`s progress in advanced infrastructure is "more than 100 times faster than the US". According to Teslarati, a multi-platform company with a focus on everything that Musk has, vehicle production at "Gigafactory 3" would start two years after its construction begins.

"Such an aggressive timeline is classic Elon Musk, especially considering that components of Gigafactory 3, such as the advanced manufacturing robots and machinery that would be used to build the vehicles, would likely be coming from abroad," the report said.