Notebookcheck Logo

Tesla Model Y production in the new German Gigafactory to start as soon as December

Tesla's Gigafactory in Germany may soon be operational (image: Tesla)
Tesla's Gigafactory in Germany may soon be operational (image: Tesla)
After months of delay and red tape compliance, the first Tesla Gigafactory in Europe may begin Model Y production in a matter of days. The Brandenburg State Environment Office will reportedly be signing off on the Berlin Gigafactory opening, allowing up to 30,000 units to be built there in the first half of 2022. That's in addition to the large capacity for Tesla 4680 battery cells production, for which CEO Elon Musk just declined a billion worth of EU subsidies.

The first Tesla Gigafactory on European soil may become operational as soon as next week, reports German car magazine "Automobilwoche," citing the proverbial sources familiar with the matter. The Gigafactory in Berlin was supposed to start production in July, but the project had to be scrutinized further for environmental and investment requirements compliance. The Brandenburg State Environment Office is allegedly ready to grant the necessary permission, paving the way for the first Tesla Model Y electric SUV to roll off the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg conveyor belts in the next few weeks. Five of those may have already been produced in a trial run there, as you can see at the 6:40 and 8:00 marks in the video below.

According to Automobilwoche's sources, the German Gigafactory will ramp up production from 1000 electric vehicles a week in January to about 30,000 Tesla Model Y units in the first half of 2022 alone. Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has complained a few times about the red tape surrounding his first Gigafactory project in Europe and just declined €1.14 billion ($1.35 billion) in EU subsidies meant for in-house battery production. The Berlin factory was initially conceived with Model Y production in mind, but later the project expanded to include the innovative Tesla 4680 battery cells.

While Mr. Musk made the withdrawal decision sound like Tesla wants to go it alone without government support, the company may simply be ineligible for the program, as the EU only earmarks subsidies for the "first industrial deployment" of a battery technology. In any case, after a lengthy delay, the Tesla Gigafactory in Germany may start churning Model Ys in a matter of days.

Get the ChargePoint Home Flex 50A EV Charger on Amazon

Source(s)

Bloomberg & FT (paywalls)

static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 11 > Tesla Model Y production in the new German Gigafactory to start as soon as December
Daniel Zlatev, 2021-11-28 (Update: 2021-11-29)