The move has fuelled talk among colleagues he is being groomed for a bigger role in Tesla, at a time when chief executive Elon Musk has been distracted by Twitter

It has not been an established practice for the plant to shut down for a year-end holiday, which will cut planned production by a third

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk said that China, Tesla’s second largest market, was in a “recession of sorts"

The Tesla billionaire has argued that allowing Beijing a say in running the disputed island would reduce tensions

Sources claim Tesla is planning to limit output at the plant to about 93% of capacity through to the end of year

Tesla's ties to Chinese government officials were a key factor in its production recovery from crippling Covid-related lockdowns, Nikkei Asia reported

The carmaker laid off about 200 employees at the driver-assistant system unit. One man who lost his job said: "We're definitely shocked; we're definitely blindsided."

The Tesla chief executive said a shortage of batteries and machinery tools stuck in Chinese ports is taking a big toll on output and revenue.

US EV maker plans upgrades to its Shanghai plant to boost production as lockdowns hammer output at the facility.

Ban comes just weeks after Chengdu police diverted Tesla cars away from numerous parts of the city during Xi visit.

The company’s country manager in Singapore and its senior representative in India have both left, according to current and former employees

Tesla also said Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a friend of chief executive Elon Musk, will not stand for re-election to the electric vehicle manufacturer's board