Tesla was unable to resume production in Shanghai on Monday

A truck transports new Tesla cars at its plant in Shanghai, China, May 13, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

SHANGHAI, April 3 (Reuters) – TESLA (TSLA.O) It told workers and suppliers that production at its Shanghai plant would not resume on Monday as it had hoped, according to an internal notice shared with Reuters.

Reuters reported earlier on Sunday that the US automaker aims to resume production on Monday, citing two sources, as it expected to see an initial batch of workers freed from the city-imposed shutdown to combat a surge in coronavirus cases. Read more

However, production plans have now been canceled on Monday, according to the notice, which did not explain the reasons or say when the company expects to resume activity.

Production at Tesla’s Shanghai plant, which produces cars for the Chinese market and is also an important export hub, has been halted since March 28 after the government launched a two-phase shutdown that began in areas east of the city’s Huangpu River where the plant is located.

Tesla had originally hoped to halt operations for only four days, but canceled production plans for Friday and Saturday after authorities expanded tight restrictions on movement in the eastern half of the city. Practically all areas of Shanghai are currently under lockdown.

The current shutdown marks one of the longest suspensions since the plant began production in late 2019. One source said that Tesla makes 6,000 Model 3 and 10,000 Model Y vehicles per week at its Shanghai plant.

Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“This has been an *exceptionally* difficult quarter due to supply chain disruptions and the COVID-free China policy,” CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet on Saturday.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh) Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Susan Fenton

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