Tesla loses its head of Giga Shanghai to a Chinee energy firm

Tesla is building capacity for Model Y local production in Gigafactory Shanghai for deliveries as early as next year. Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s China plant manager Song Gang reportedly left the company on Wednesday to join Chinese company Envision that develops wind turbines and energy management software, which marks a high-profile departure for the US electric vehicle giant. According to an internal note seen by Reuters, Song, who became Gigafactory Shanghai’s manager in 2018, said he felt “extremely fortunate” to have worked with Tesla’s Chinese employees for the past six years. The reason for the departure remains unknown but the automaker was forced to put on hold plans to expand the Shanghai plant last year, due to Beijing’s concerns about overcapacity and intensifying competition in the market, the report said. Shanghai-headquartered Envision is one of the world’s largest wind turbine companies and has been building battery plants in the US, Spain, France, and UK. Japan’s Nissan sold its EV battery business to the company in 2019, according to a statement. [Reuters, Nissan statement]