The US electric car manufacturer Tesla wants to start production for Europe in Germany by December at the latest. This was announced by company founder Elon Musk at a community festival in his first European plant near Berlin over the weekend. He disagreed with criticism from residents and environmentalists about the industrial plant, which was designed and built in just two years. The aim is “a beautiful factory in harmony with its surroundings”.
Musk announced plans for the so-called Gigafactory in Grünheide in Brandenburg at the end of 2019. The billion-dollar project started a little later with so-called early approvals and is now almost finished – although the final environmental approval is still missing. Up to 9,000 visitors with pre-ordered tickets were able to see robots on production lines in test operation on Saturday in the factory hall, which is several hundred meters long and wide.
Gigafactory in the countryside
In the future, around 12,000 employees in Grünheide will build up to 500,000 electric cars a year. Tesla wants to produce as many parts as possible on site in order to be independent of suppliers. Above all, Tesla emphasizes the importance of its own die-casting facility and state-of-the-art paint shop. In addition, a battery factory is being built next to the car factory.
Both should reach mass production by the end of 2022, said Musk. The production of the first vehicles this year is easy. “Super difficult” is ramping up production to 5000 to 10,000 vehicles per week. The Tesla Model Y, a fully electric mid-range car for a list price from 59,965 euros, will roll off the assembly line in Grünheide.