Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong attend the groundbreaking ceremony. Photo: Zhang Hengwei/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
Tesla broke ground on a new factory in Shanghai on Monday, its first outside the U.S., and CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company will begin production there for its mass-market Models 3 and Y for the Chinese market by the end of the year.
Why it matters: Musk's move to build directly in China followed after Beijing announced it would end restrictions on foreign ownership of electric vehicle producers, the AP reports. By building a factory in China itself, Tesla will be able to tap into the world's biggest electric vehicle market without any worries about the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.
Go deeper: Tesla's emerging China production plan plan