Tall_Ross
Member
I've had a couple of people asking me about TITUS and whether she has delivered Chinese Model 3s to Athens. I don't think so.
Clearly it is has been a busy weekend with the revelations that Tesla really are shipping Chinese made Model 3s to Europe. We knew it was going to happen but nevertheless it is still big news. Someone in France put down a deposit of €100 and seemed to have been immediately matched with a LRW VIN (LRW indicates that the car was manufactured by Tesla China. A car made in the USA has a VIN starting 5YJ). In this very thread @Terranca yesterday found LRW VINS for sale in the source code on a European Tesla website. Significantly however the source code seemed to indicate they were coming via Zeebrugge. Some news outlets are saying that Tesla will be delivering these cars this month however that is not what Tesla have said. Tesla have stated that they will start exporting Chinese Model 3s this month. This means we can scratch TITUS off the list since she loaded in September. (I wasn't too interested in GF3 at the time but wasn't it closed towards the end of September?)
Anyway, it's clear that there has been a large ramp up of production in Shanghai and it is able to supply not only its existing domestic market but produce a surplus for export too. I understand that the exports to Europe are LHD SR+ at the moment. They may also be exporting to other neighbouring countries as well eg S Korea however those exports will be hard to spot. What will increase their visibility is the development of the Nangang Terminal. I believe there is a desire to use Nangang soon however I am unsighted as to any progress or the issues that need to be resolved to make it happen - a good subject for a Wu Wa drone video perhaps?
I'm also unsure about whether the rail link is viable. It is a container only rail link at the moment as far as I can tell. Nevertheless there was an indication that Tesla may be preparing to use a trimodel facility in Neuss, Germany. This might better fit with the concept of unloading in Athens and using a car transporter train from there to Neuss.
So what we can say is that the Chinese made Model 3s will very soon be on the way to Europe, it's just a question of how. For the moment I still expect them to come by sea, via Zeebrugge.
We shall see....
Meanwhile back at Fremont they appear to be manufacturing 'refreshed' Model 3s for the domestic market. Normally production at this point in the quarter is still 100% export and yet at the moment they are producing cars for both the domestic market and export market concurrently. This tells me that Fremont have increased their production too.
October may have had a slow start but things are most definitely hotting up....
Thanks again Mr Miserable for your updates.