Song Gang joined Tesla Shanghai in December 2018 and was the No. 1 employee at Giga Shanghai.
Song Gang, who oversaw the construction of Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Shanghai factory, is set to leave the US automaker this week, Bloomberg said in a report today, citing people familiar with the matter.
Fei Wenjin, who was recently promoted from director of quality to senior director, will take over Song’s responsibilities for now, according to the report.
Song joined Tesla Shanghai in December 2018 as Giga Shanghai’s No. 1 employee and currently holds the title of vice president of manufacturing, according to his LinkedIn page.
Prior to joining Tesla, he worked for car companies including General Motors, Ford, and Zhidou Electrical Vehicle.
“Now I am leading the 1st Mega factory project outside US, aiming to build the No. 1 engergy product factory in the world,” Song’s LinkedIn profile reads.
He also spent some time at Tesla US, where he was involved in business planning for factory construction and potential facilities, according to the Bloomberg report Today.
He then returned to Shanghai to build Tesla’s Megapack battery factory, which is expected to go into production in the first quarter of 2025, the report noted.
The Shanghai Megafactory is Tesla’s first energy storage factory outside of the US and is the company’s second major investment in China in the decade since it entered the country.
The Megafactory, which began construction on May 23, is expected to go into production in the first quarter of 2025, with an annual Megapack production capacity of up to 10,000 units.
Separately, according to a report by local media outlet LatePost, Song submitted his resignation letter months ago, with December 18 being his last day at Tesla Shanghai.
Two people familiar with the matter said Song plans to join an emerging local car brand that is currently experiencing a capacity bottleneck, according to LatePost, which did not specify the brand’s name.
Reuters also reported Song’s departure, saying he said in a letter sent to employees that Wednesday would be his last day at Tesla.
Giga Shanghai is currently Tesla’s largest factory in the world, with an annual capacity of about 1 million units, according to figures previously revealed by the company in its earnings report.
The factory produces the Model 3 sedan and Model Y, and delivers both to local customers and as an export hub for Tesla.
In November, Tesla’s Shanghai plant shipped 78,856 cars, bringing cumulative shipments from January to November to 822,894 units, down 3.6 percent year-on-year, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
In China, Tesla delivered 73,490 vehicles in November, bringing January-November deliveries to 574,175 vehicles, an 8.77 percent increase year-on-year.
Tesla’s Shanghai factory exported 5,366 vehicles in November, bringing the combined January-November exports to 248,719 vehicles, down 23.65 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
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