Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory is a massive success story. Constructed in record time, the facility churns out thousands of examples of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y for the Chinese market and for Europe as well. However, some controversy struck last March when reports claimed these Chinese-built vehicles lacked the build quality of their North American counterparts. Ironically enough, there have been several confirmed cases of US-built Teslas suffering from various quality control issues.

A Chinese media outlet recently conducted its own investigation into the matter and outright accused the automaker of sacrificing build quality for high production volume in order to satisfy demand. This report, according to Teslarati, included interviews with suppliers who stated Tesla accepted faulty parts for volume's sake.

One supplier outright admitted their company "simply can't make enough parts that meet the quality standard. It's stressful." Not surprisingly, this individual wished to remain anonymous. The Chinese report also said Giga Shanghai is operating like a "sweatshop" where workers must work long hours. And now Tesla VP of China, Grace Tao, has responded to these accusations, though her response likely won't satisfy everyone.

"In strict accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, there is no phenomenon of 'lowering quality for production.'" Tao also implied the report was not accurate to begin with.

"Obviously, it has not been carefully considered and does not conform to the facts." Although Tesla hasn't provided concrete evidence to contradict the report's claims, it's possible it will sue the publication because it was "flawed in details, and the article was immediately revised within an hour after… [it] was issued." It's kind of hard to believe Giga Shanghai would purposely cut quality corners because of the massive hit to its reputation (not to mention stock value) it would take following any revelations.

Giga Shanghai is not just some plant for a small local market but rather the world's biggest automotive market. EV popularity, in general, is huge in China and growing consistently in Europe. There's simply too much at stake for Tesla not to ensure product quality.