Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory sends out first shipment since mid-April

SHANGHAI - A ship carrying 4,767 electric cars produced by US automaker Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory left a Shanghai port for Slovenia early Wednesday, according to Shanghai customs.

It marked the first export shipment of Tesla cars from Shanghai since April 19, when the factory resumed production amid the COVID-19 resurgence in the city.

Shanghai customs said it has established a communication channel with Tesla to coordinate online customs services and help speed up the delivery of orders.

Due to the latest COVID-19 resurgence in the city, the Shanghai Gigafactory had suspended production for over 20 days.

In the first four months of this year, Tesla's Shanghai factory delivered 183,686 vehicles, over 1.7 times the amount for the same period last year, already surpassing the total for 2020.

Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory is the first wholly foreign-owned car manufacturing enterprise in China.