Tesla starts exporting Megapacks from Shanghai

US electric vehicle maker Tesla saw its energy storage Megafactory in Shanghai's Lin-gang Special Area ship the Megapack energy storage systems to Australia on Friday, according to the company.

This shipment marked the first batch of such products manufactured by the Lin-gang plant and supplied to the overseas market.

The Megapack, an advanced battery system designed for large-scale energy projects, can store more than 3,900 kilowatt-hours of electricity in a single unit, enough capacity to power a Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel drive version for 39,000 kilometers.

Subsequent Megapack energy storage systems produced at the Lin-gang factory will be supplied to the Chinese domestic and Asia-Pacific markets, according to Xinhua.

Tesla's new energy storage Megafactory in Lin-gang Special Area -- a part of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone -- went into operation on Feb 11, with the factory's first Megapack battery system rolling off the production line.

Covering about 200,000 square meters, the new energy storage project involved a total investment of 1.45 billion yuan ($200 million). Up to 10,000 Megapack storage units are scheduled to be produced there annually.

As Tesla's first energy storage Megafactory outside the United States, and the second of its kind for the EV maker, the Lin-gang plant only took nine months from groundbreaking, which took place in May 2024, to its official operation.

Tesla's founder Elon Musk said in a conference call in late January that it is building a third Megafactory to produce more Megapacks just as the competition in the energy storage sector heats up.

Waller County, Texas, approved on in early March a tax deal for Tesla to build and operate its Megapack factory in a local industrial park.