SHANGHAI -- US carmaker Tesla said on Wednesday that its Shanghai energy-storage battery Megafactory will start official operation next week.

The construction of this Megafactory in East China was completed at the end of last year. Following its launch ceremony in May 2024, it took just seven months for the project to be completed. Trial operation began last month.

The Megafactory is the first of its kind to be built by Tesla outside the United States, and is dedicated to manufacturing Megapacks, Tesla's energy-storage batteries. Mass production at the Shanghai facility is expected to fully commence in the first quarter of 2025, Tesla said.

This Megafactory was built with an initial annual production capacity of 10,000 units -- equal to around 40 gigawatt-hours of energy storage, according to the company.