New factory
Tesla wants to start in Grünheide – criticism from environmentalists
The grounds of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin Brandenburg. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
It should start in Grünheide: Tesla boss Elon Musk personally comes to the opening of the new factory. Before the celebration, to which Chancellor Scholz is also expected, there is renewed criticism from environmentalists.
After a little more than two years of construction, the first Tesla cars from Germany are to go to their new owners in Grünheide near Berlin.
The US electric car manufacturer wants to open its first “Gigafactory” in Europe on Tuesday – in the presence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens), Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) and Tesla boss Elon Musk. The company boss personally wants to hand over the first Model Y to customers. He wanted to start production last summer, but the approval of the state of Brandenburg was delayed – also because Tesla added a battery factory to the planning.
The project is considered a model
The project is considered a model for Brandenburg and East Germany. People like to talk about “Tesla speed” when it comes to construction and approval times. Overall, according to earlier company information, a “mid-single-digit billion sum” is to be invested. Tesla plans in a first stage with up to 500,000 electric cars per year and around 12,000 employees. Brandenburg had approved the factory in early March after around two years of construction. But the car factory is already there, built over almost 20 early registrations. A battery factory is under construction. Before the opening, the company still has to meet numerous requirements. However, the state of Brandenburg no longer sees any obstacles.
According to environmentalists, the water supply for Tesla is not secured. “The overall approval is on shaky ground,” said the managing director of the Green League Brandenburg, Michael Ganschow. He criticized the fact that the administrative court in Frankfurt (Oder) considered the drinking water supply to be secure for Tesla for 30 years in a lawsuit brought by the Green League and the Nabu nature conservation association against the state because of a permit for water withdrawal. The environmentalists point to drought and climate change.
Environmentalists want to demonstrate at the opening
The court had rejected a water supply from the Eggersdorf waterworks at the beginning of March for formal reasons. Public participation now has to be made up for a higher volume of water. The country continues to tolerate the withdrawal of the full amount of the permit of 3.8 million cubic meters of water per year.
Tesla had reduced the planned water consumption in the planning. According to earlier information, the company estimates 2.2 cubic meters per vehicle including battery production and emphasizes that this is below the industry average of more than 3 cubic meters. Nevertheless, residents and environmentalists want to demonstrate at the opening.