TESLA Inc. has registered a financial leasing company in China, a local business registration filing shows, in the latest sign the U.S. electric car maker is attempting to speed up its push into China.

The California-based carmaker, led by billionaire chief executive Elon Musk, has opened a wholly-owned financial leasing unit in Shanghai’s free trade zone with registered capital of US$30 million, according to China’s National Enterprise Information Publicity System.

Its scope includes leasing and consultancy, the document said, which listed the firm’s legal representative as Zhu Xiaotong, Tesla head in China.

Musk said in a tweet Monday that Tesla is getting ready to break ground on its factory and he can’t wait to visit.

“Looking forward to visiting soon for the groundbreaking of Gigafactory Shanghai,” Musk wrote in the tweet. He didn’t provide a date for the visit.

The China plant would be a significant milestone for the battery-car manufacturer as it pushes harder into the world’s largest automobile market with its first factory outside the United States.

The plant — dubbed Gigafactory 3 — will be the biggest foreign-invested manufacturing project in Shanghai. The Palo Alto, California-based company has secured more than 200 acres (13 hectare) of land for the China factory, which is expected to cost several billion dollars to build.

The company has opened a tender process to build its Shanghai Gigafactory and at least one contractor has started buying materials, media reports said last month.(SD-Agencies)