By Michael Elkins
Electric vehicle giant, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has reportedly delayed its plans to expand the company's Shanghai factory according to a report by Bloomberg on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The reason for the delay is reportedly connected to Elon Musk's satellite internet system, Starlink.
The Bloomberg report claimed that some officials from China's central government had expressed concerns about a US company with connections to Elon Musk's Starlink having such a large presence in the country.
Tesla had planned to start work on expanding the plant as part of a strategy to more than double its production capacity in China to meet growing demand for its cars in the country and export markets. The expansion would have helped the company to produce up to 2 million cars per year at the Shanghai plant.
Shares of TSLA are up 0.16% in pre-market trading on Thursday.