According to a regulatory filing on Friday, Tesla has secured a $565 million loan for its Shanghai plant, which will be used for "continued expansion of production at Gigafactory Shanghai," the automaker said. The loan is being provided by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and can only be used for expenditures pertaining to production at the Shanghai plant.
The Shanghai plant is Tesla"s first manufacturing site outside the U.S. and was built as part of the company"s vision to be a global carmaker. It also helps the firm circumvent higher import tariffs, which are imposed on cars manufactured in the U.S. Last week, production at the Shanghai plant was halted, with the company noting:
"Tesla Shanghai is adjusting to normal production due to test run[s] and maintenance of production lines that were carried out during the recent holidays. All work is being executed according to plan."
Tesla had also been planning to resume operations at its Fremont factory on Friday; however, local county health officials stated that the plant doesn"t meet the criteria for reopening and must remain closed.
Source: Nikkei Asian Review