Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory reaches 4,000,000 cars after major growth
Published on Dec 13, 2025 at 10:20 PM (UTC+4)
by Jason Fan
Last updated on Dec 10, 2025 at 6:06 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
It’s hard not to be impressed when the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory casually clocks its four-millionth vehicle like it’s just another Monday.
On December 8, 2025, the milestone car, a Starlight Gold Model Y L, rolled off the production line, marking another chapter in Tesla’s rapid-fire manufacturing story.
What’s remarkable isn’t just the number, but how quickly the factory keeps stacking up these achievements.
In just six years, the Shanghai factory has gone from empty land to one of the most important EV factories on Earth.
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The Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory produces nearly half of Tesla’s EVs
For Tesla, the Shanghai Gigafactory is far more than a regional plant.
It’s the company’s primary production hub outside its Texas Gigafactory, and a cornerstone of its global operations.
Nearly half of the carmaker’s worldwide electric vehicle deliveries have come from this single facility, supplying not only China, but also export markets across Asia and Europe.
In many ways, Shanghai is Tesla’s volume engine, keeping costs competitive and output high.
The factory is also responsible for manufacturing certain models that are only available in China, like the Tesla Model Y L.
China’s EV sector is extremely competitive
The numbers behind the four-million milestone tell an interesting story.
After initial production began on January 7, 2019, it took 1,316 days for the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory to build its first million EVs, with that milestone reached in August 2022.
From there, things accelerated dramatically: the second million took just 387 days, followed by 414 days to reach the third million.
The jump from three to four million vehicles took roughly 411 days.
This is still rapid by any global manufacturing standard, even if it represents a slight slowdown.
The carmaker itself acknowledged the pace in its announcement, noting that the jump from three million to four million vehicles took just under 14 months.
Over the long term, this kind of consistency is still nothing to scoff at.
A few extra weeks between milestones is not that big of a red flag.
In fact, it’s just a reminder that scaling at this level is complicated, especially in a market as competitive as China’s EV sector.
Key milestones achieved by the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory
July 2018: Tesla signed an agreement with the Shanghai municipal government to build its first wholly foreign-owned car factory in China
January 2019: Construction of the factory began in Lingang, Shanghai
December 2019: The factory set an industry record when it completed site construction, production setup, and deliveries within the same year
October 2020: Shanghai started exporting Tesla vehicles, supplying markets in Europe and Asia-Pacific for the first time
August 2022: The 1 millionth vehicle rolled off the line, roughly 3.5 years after production began
September 2023: The factory reached 2 million units, just 387 days after its first million
October 2024: The 3 million vehicle milestone was achieved
December 2025: Tesla celebrated its 4 millionth vehicle in the Shanghai Gigafactory, a Starlight Gold Model Y L
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Jason Fan is an experienced content creator who graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore with a degree in communications. He then relocated to Australia during a millennial mid-life crisis. A fan of luxury travel and high-performance machines, he politely thanks chatbots just in case the AI apocalypse ever arrives. Jason covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on technology, planes and luxury.
