An overview of Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai Photo: VCG

As US electric carmaker Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory 3 is on the verge of entering its production phase, the price of dimethyl carbonate, which is used as a raw material for power batteries, has begun to rise, media reported on Tuesday. 

Citing data from BAIINFO, a raw materials intelligence service provider in China, Shanghai Securities News reported that on Monday the price of battery-grade dimethyl carbonate was again raised by 200 yuan ($28) per ton to 9,800 yuan, and ultra-pure dimethyl carbonate by 200 yuan per ton to 10,100 yuan.

From October 16 to 18, battery-grade dimethyl carbonate's price rose steadily with a daily increase of 200 yuan per ton. As of Monday, the price increased from 9,000 yuan to 9,800 yuan, or 8.89 percent.

The increase of dimethyl carbonate's price comes as Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory 3 is speeding up its pace toward production. 

On October 17, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology added Tesla to a list of approved automakers, paving the way for the electric-vehicle maker to begin production in the country, Reuters reported.

On the same day, the State Grid Corp of China opened the first transmission line in a power-connection project that increases the Tesla plant's electricity supply to the level required for preliminary production, according to a statement from the Chinese company's Shanghai branch.

According to Shanghai Securities News, supplies of the recent battery-grade dimethyl carbonate product are tight as LG's Nanjing factory is preparing to supply batteries for the upcoming domestically made Tesla Model 3.

Since it began construction in Shanghai at the beginning of this year, Tesla has been accelerating the completion of the factory. Thanks to the Shanghai government's full support, it took Tesla only 10 months to complete construction, compared to the standard one to two years, Yicai reported.

On Monday, Tesla's Global Vice President Tao Lin said that the Shanghai factory is ready for production. 

According to Yicai, the Model 3 will be the first model to be produced in this factory, which is expected to produce 1,000 vehicles per week by the end of this year, and 2,000 to 3,000 by the first half of next year.