Allan Wang Hao said in a media briefing on Tuesday that the Shanghai Gigafactory could provide a “golden key” to the mass production of robots designed to resemble and move like humans.
“Like other Tesla factories, Giga Shanghai can shoulder important responsibilities in manufacturing all new products, including robots, to make our contributions to the company,” he said. “We are highly confident in welcoming the arrival of a new era of robots.”
It was the first time a Tesla executive publicly mentioned the potential use of the Shanghai factory for building humanoid robots, a new strategic focus that Musk has set for the company.
Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai, China. Photo: Reuters
Musk had said Tesla’s edge in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving justified the company’s lofty stock market valuation. In January, Tesla said it was transforming itself into a physical AI firm from a hardware-centric business after reporting weak earnings and deliveries last year.
Wang did not elaborate whether Tesla would assemble robots at its existing facilities in Shanghai or construct a new plant for the business.
Humanoid robots, powered by AI algorithms, can be deployed in various scenarios from production and logistics to hospitality and elderly care. The humanoid robot sector is a field in which both the US and China are looking for an edge amid escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
The Shanghai Gigafactory produced more than 850,000 vehicles in 2025. Photo: Reuters
In 2025, the Shanghai Gigafactory churned out about 851,000 vehicles for both domestic sales and exports, accounting for 52 per cent of Tesla’s global total, which dropped 8.6 per cent to 1.63 million units.
Deliveries from the plant, where its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles are assembled, climbed 46.2 per cent from February to 85,670 units last month, covering both domestic sales and exports. In the first quarter of 2026, the factory delivered 213,398 vehicles, up 23.5 per cent year on year, representing 59.6 per cent of Tesla’s global total in the period.
Tesla started production of Megapack large-scale batteries for energy storage at its Shanghai Megafactory in February last year, with an annual target of 10,000 units. Each Megapack can store enough energy to power 3,600 homes for one hour, giving the factory a total annual energy storage capacity of 40 gigawatt-hours a year.
Originally written by: Daniel Ren
Source: South China Morning Post
Published on: 14 April 2026
Link to original article: Shanghai Gigafactory has potential to construct humanoid robots: Tesla China president
