(Yicai Global) Dec. 31 -- There is no such thing as lowering quality for greater production volumes at Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, China News reported yesterday, citing the US electric car giant’s response to an article by a Chinese tech media platform labelling the Gigafactory a ‘giga-sweatshop.’

Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory attaches great importance to product quality and worker safety, the California-based firm said. It implements compliance management and manufacturing in strict accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, it added.

“Tesla is doing whatever it can to hit the production goal, including lowering its quality standards,” PingWest said in a report released on Dec. 25, citing several current and former Tesla China employees.

The “insanely high” output is achieved by working employees into the ground and bending normal factory standards, the ‘Giga-Sweatshop Meets Corporate Overlords: an Exclusive Look Into How Tesla China Runs Its Shanghai Gigafactory 3’ report said. Any complaints to management fall on deaf ears, it added.

This article is too outrageous and is beyond imagination, Tao Lin, the vice president of Tesla Global, said on Dec. 26. Tesla will sue, she added.

There is insufficient evidence to conclude that Tesla has a quality problem, Fei Zheyi, an auto analyst, told China News.

The Shanghai Gigafactory was designed from the outset to be one of the most advanced factories in the world. It is highly automated and managed electronically, Tesla said.

Its Management Operating System supports precise traceability of all parts for the entire life cycle of a product. It can tell dealers the key process parameters and quality control results during the assembly of each vehicle part. It can even tell you the angle at which a worker has screwed a screw in and the exact number of turns and the strength used, it added.

The Gigafactory also exports vehicles to Europe. The exported autos use the same parts, the same suppliers and the same workers in accordance with the same production standards as those sold in China, it said.

All Tesla employees can participate in the company's global unified stock purchase plan and benefit from its annual distribution of stock.

Tesla’s management do not enjoy special treatment. They do not have separate offices or special shuttle buses. They eat in the same canteen as the rest of the employees and they have the same social security benefits as everyone else, it added.

Editor: Kim Taylor