Written by Akimoto Yukiko
Tesla’s Vice President of Manufacturing and Director of the GigaShanghai plant, Song Gang, is moving to the renewable energy firm Envision after having resigned from Tesla.
The Chinese media outlet LatePost reported this week that the executive had submitted his resignation months ago making December 18 his last working day. As of early Friday, Tesla has not officially appointed a new lead for its most productive Giga factory.
Tesla has yet to appoint a new director for the Shanghai factory. According to insiders, the two most likely successors are Fei Wenjin, Senior Director of Vehicle and Parts Quality at the Shanghai factory, and Sun Haolin, the current Logistics Director.
Fei Wenjin, who was promoted a few months ago, is praised for his strong technical expertise. The Shanghai factory director role is regarded as the second most critical position in Tesla China, following Tom Zhu, Tesla’s Global Vice President and Head of Greater China.
This role oversees the entirety of Shanghai’s Phase I and Phase II factories, as well as battery and motor production. Except for the supply chain—which is managed by Tesla’s U.S. headquarters—all other manufacturing-related departments report to the factory director.
Song Gang joined Tesla in 2018, after spending one year at Ford and six at SAIC General Motors joint venture. As the first employee of the Shanghai factory, Song led the team that achieved local production of the Model 3 within a year.
In 2020, Tesla began construction of the Shanghai factory’s Phase II for Model Y production, with Song at the helm. Under his leadership, Phase II became one of the most efficient and high-quality production lines in the world, achieving over 95% localization for its components.
The GigaShanghai factory will produce two upgraded versions of the Model Y. One is the refreshed Model Y, which is scheduled for mass production in January 2025, with the 6-seater version following later in the year.
Globally, Tesla has stated it “expects to achieve slight growth in vehicle deliveries in 2024,” and aims to deliver more than 500,000 vehicles in a single quarter for the first time.
Written by Akimoto Yukiko
