Tesla and Other Automakers to Restart Production in Shanghai

Automakers such as Tesla Inc. and SAIC Motor Corp. are planning to resume production in Shanghai next week, as concerns are growing about the devastating economic impact of China's strict Covid 19 restrictions on extending factory closures.

Meanwhile, other cities in China tightened Covid's restrictions on Friday. Xi'an, for example, is a sign of China's strict Covid measures struggling to contain the highly contagious Omicron variant, which emerged from a week-long lockdown just a few months ago, will continue to put pressure on the economy.

Some economists expect China's economic growth this year to be well below its official target of about 5.5%. It is necessary to create more than 11 million urban jobs, officials say. China will announce its first-quarter economic results on Monday.

Tesla, which stopped production at its Shanghai plant on March 28, is preparing to resume production at its Shanghai plant on Monday, people familiar with the matter said. Some say that American electric car makers plan to increase from one shift to two shifts by the end of April, as more workers are expected to be fired from nearby barriers by then. People said the plan could still change if the incidents increased again and the city tightened control.