Tesla wants to expand its business operations in China, according to a Wall Street Journal report published today. Though it ran into a bit of a roadblock earlier this year due to US-Chinatrade war tariffs, the company has been selling its vehicles in the country for some time, with quite a bit of success.

Now, though, Tesla has reportedly bought a massive plot of land in the country -- 210 acres in total -- with the intention of building an entirely new Gigafactory. If Tesla does so, it'll be the first time a Gigafactory has arrived outside of the US - an impressive milestone for the company.

Indeed, Tesla's VP of worldwide sales Robin Ren seems to agree with that sentiment. "Securing this site in Shanghai, Tesla’s first Gigafactory outside of the United States, is an important milestone for what will be our next advanced, sustainably developed manufacturing site," Ren said in a statement.
The Wall Street Journal seems to have cleverly tracked down a listing for the land deal in question. Apparently, the transaction cost Tesla a whopping $140 million, but the long-term benefits will likely drastically outweigh the upfront costs.

The company's goal is to produce "up to" 500,000 cars per year at the factory by the "end of the decade." That's an extremely ambitious goal, and it's tough to say whether or not Tesla will be able to pull it off. However, it's possible that the EV maker has learned enough from its troubled Model 3 production cycle to carry that knowledge over to Chinese operations.

Regardless, we'll probably learn more about the development of this Gigafactory in the coming months and years.