Elon Musk Opens Tesla Gigafactory In Germany

Tesla has officially opened its third ever factory, after Elon Musk and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attended the launch event.

The new Giga Berlin (or Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg) factory is located in Grünheide, a coal town in Brandenburg, Germany, within commuting distance of Berlin.

The German factory is only the third ever Tesla factory, and joins its existing assembly plants located in California and Shanghai.

Tesla is also constructing a factory in Austin, Texas, that is expected to open soon.

Dance moves

The official opening of the 5 billion euro ($5.5 billion) Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg had been delayed from last year, as the plant was expected to begin production back last October.

Despite the delay, Musk was seen dancing as he presided over the delivery of Tesla’s first German-made cars to 30 clients and their families.

Remember, Musk also threw a few dance moves when he opened Tesla’s factory (Gigafactory 3) in Shanghai back in 2019.

Elon Musk called Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg another step toward a sustainable energy future.

“Tesla will make sure that this is a gemstone for the area, for Germany, for Europe and for the world,” Musk was quoted by CNN as saying. “You should have hope in the future. This [climate] problem will be solved and this factory is a major step in that direction. So believe in the future.”

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Olaf Scholz spoke at the opening of the factory as well, and on Twitter described the factory as a way to become carbon neutral.

The world’s most valuable car maker will reportedly produce as many as 500,000 vehicles a year at the plant and plans to hire as many as 12,000 workers.

The production capacity is similar to its existing plants in California and Shanghai.

Production issues

Tesla has been struggling to keep up with demand in recent times, and there are reported delays for a number of its models.

Matters have not been helped by the ongoing global chip shortage.

Electric vehicles account for 10 percent of vehicle sales in Europe, and they outsold diesel cars for the first time in Western Europe in December 2021.

Last month it was reported that Tesla will construct an additional factory in Shanghai, to more than double its China production capacity.

But last week Tesla was forced to temporarily suspend production for several days at its Shanghai factory, as China tightened restrictions in response to a worrying Covid-19 outbreak.