Status: 03/22/2022 04:35 a.m
Under the eyes of CEO Musk, Tesla wants to deliver the first electric cars from the “Gigafactory” in Grünheide today. Further company settlements have allowed Brandenburg’s self-confidence as an automotive region to grow.
In the past few days, the eccentric Tesla boss has engaged in a bizarre Twitter skirmish with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kaydrov, also known as “Putin’s bloodhound.” The tech billionaire had previously asked the Russian President to fight. Mission: Ukraine.
With all the show and his many weird tweets, what Musk actually is: entrepreneur. In this function, the e-car pioneer will personally hand over the first vehicles “made in Brandenburg” to customers in Grünheide today.
Record settlement for East Germany
It is the largest industrial settlement in East Germany since reunification. The Tesla guest list is correspondingly prominent. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, SPD, will be present at the opening, as will Economics Minister Robert Habeck from the Greens.
Scholz’ party friend Dietmar Woidke, of course, too: the Brandenburg Prime Minister and his Economics Minister threw their hats in the ring when Musk announced – via Twitter, of course – that they were building a plant in Europe. That was in spring 2019. Today, three years later, Woidke speaks of a small ray of sunshine in dark times – and that one is no longer “the extended workbench of the West”.
“All of a sudden you know us”
Woidke is proud, because he knows the economic history of his federal state only too well, he knows about the blows to the neck that Brandenburg has had to suffer in recent years. Several large settlements have failed.
For example, Cargolifter once wanted to build airships in the Dahme-Spreewald. 500 jobs should be created there. Another flop: the chip factory in Frankfurt/Oder. A lot has happened since then, says the state’s Economics Minister, Jörg Steinbach. When it comes to economic power, Brandenburg has worked its way up the state table from the bottom up: “All of a sudden, people know us, all of a sudden we’re being asked about,” says the SPD politician.
Brandenburg in “Tesla magic”
And the numbers that are mentioned in connection with Tesla are not only impressive by Brandenburg standards. Every year, 500,000 vehicles are to roll off the line on the outskirts of Berlin, produced by 12,000 employees.
“All of a sudden, Brandenburg is one of the most important automotive locations in Germany,” says Steffen Kammradt, Managing Director of Brandenburg Economic Development. The state-owned agency advises companies and investors looking to establish themselves in the state. Kammradt reports a real boost in investment inquiries since Elon Musk decided on Brandenburg. According to Kammradt, Brandenburg has been relocated on the map. He speaks of a “Tesla magic”.
Resettlement throughout the region
The Prognos Institute is similarly optimistic in view of the country’s most recent economic development. It says there that the auto industry would be reinvented in Brandenburg. In Schwarzheide, for example, BASF is currently building a cathode factory. The facilities are to produce the material for 400,000 electric vehicles per year.
Rock Tech is active near the Polish border. The German-Canadian company wants to start up Europe’s largest lithium plant in Brandenburg from 2024. Lithium is considered one of the most important raw materials for the construction of batteries for electric cars.
In addition, there is the US company Microvast, which has its European headquarters in Brandenburg and produces fast-charging batteries for trucks. According to business developer Kammradt, a new value-added chain is currently being set up in the federal state at breathtaking speed.
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The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), on the other hand, is putting the brakes on the euphoria, albeit gently. Research Director Industrial Policy, Martin Gornig, does not yet want to talk about an “Autovalley”. In his eyes, Brandenburg has good cards in hand.
“It won’t happen by itself. That’s what economic policy is called for now. For example, there needs to be cooperation between companies and universities.” The economic expert refers to the car clusters in Stuttgart or Munich. Competence centers are also being set up there, according to Gornig.
The big companies like Tesla, BASF and Rock Tech are there – now they are hoping for small, innovative suppliers in Brandenburg, the so-called “hidden champions”, as the University of Dortmund called them in a study. For example, most of the 50 German suppliers of Tesla’s Model 3 are still not from Brandenburg, but from western and southern Germany.
Brandenburg, as Gornig puts it, is not the only relevant location when it comes to e-mobility. “But now you can suddenly play along. It wouldn’t be possible without Tesla.”