Nothing surprises us about Tesla anymore. Well, almost nothing. These are drone shots of a holding facility at Luchao Port, near Shanghai, China. Of course, Giga Shanghai is where Tesla’s China operations are located. These have recently moved here after their slow exodus from Giga Shanghai to the port. 

You can see thousands (!) of Teslas parked at the port, waiting for export. Most will make their way to Europe. They’re mostly Model 3 sedans, but there are also plenty of Model Y sedans in the Wu Wa drone video. 

Watch the incredible amount of Tesla EVs parked near Shanghai

According to Teslarati, Giga Shanghai focuses on European exports for the first part of each quarter, and domestic production in the second half. There has been a brisk ramp-up in production after COVID restrictions severely hampered production there. But even at full speed, Tesla sees Giga Shanghai production as not meeting demand.

A second factory is coming near Giga Shanghai. This will double output, producing up to 450,000 cars. That increases production to two million cars a year. 

What does Tesla make at Giga Shanghai?

For now, the Shanghai facility is considered its primary export hub. Tesla says that with the second plant completed, it would make it the “world’s largest vehicle export center.” Besides the Model 3 and Model Y, it is expected that the facility will also manufacture the Cybertruck by next year. 

And it could also begin making the $25,000 sedan, tentatively called the Model 2. It is unclear when production of this, as yet, unbuilt sedan will begin. As for the Model S and Model X, it looks like these EVs will be North America-only vehicles. 

And speaking of North America, production is also slowly ramping up at the Gigafactories in Texas as well as in Berlin, Germany. The Berlin factory just hit production of 1,000 Model Y sedans a week last week. Both Shanghai and Berlin are currently shut down for upgrading lines to substantially increase output.

What does it mean when EV sales pass five percent?

And the timing couldn’t be better. U.S. sales of EVs have increased past five percent. EV sales are now past “early adoption” territory by exceeding that number. Now, they’re into mass adoption. 

The U.S. joins both Europe and China to hit five percent. These being the three biggest automotive markets means that by 2025, 25 percent of all car sales will be electric. That puts us two years ahead of typical forecasts for mass adoption according to Bloomberg. 

New technologies like electricity, televisions, mobile phones, and the internet, launched into the mainstream after hitting five percent of sales. Before that point, sales are slow and sporadic. Once hitting five percent, the increase in use rises rapidly, and steadily. In all, there are 18 countries that have hit this mark, with some, like China, at almost 17 percent of total sales. And the U.K. is right behind China at 16.5.