The first Tesla vehicles are starting to roll out of the Gigafactory in Grenheide, Germany. You’re here announcement having delivered its first 30 Model Ys and plans to eventually produce 500,000 vehicles per year from this plant.
The first “Made in Germany” Teslas arrive
The gigantic German factory which will have cost 5 billion euros officially begins to take service. Elon Musk says he is excited to be able to deliver his first German-made vehicles. German production was delayed due to fierce opposition from environmentalists at the site. Finally, at the beginning of March, Tesla received the necessary authorizations to start production at its German site. German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz visited the site to inaugurate the official launch of the Gigafactory in Grenheide.
General Motors buys SoftBank’s stake in Cruise
At first, only Model Y Performance will come out of the Gigafactory 4. This factory almost never saw the light of day. Indeed, following complaints from many environmental defense groups, the subject of water supply posed a problem. Tesla eventually promised to minimize water use, and also said it would plant thousands of trees to help improve its carbon footprint in this German region. On March 4, 2022, the company received final approval from authorities to begin production.
10,000 vehicles per week will leave this factory
The construction of the factory had been stopped following a court order because Tesla had started to raze the 92 hectares of surrounding forest without having a building permit, but with the authorization of the office of the environment all the same. German. Not enough in the eyes of the court which had been seized by local environmental activists. Finally, not without difficulty, Tesla will have succeeded in overcoming this disproportionate project. Opening a factory in Europe sounded like a no-brainer for Tesla.
By choosing Germany, the firm of Elon Musk will be able to highlight the coveted “Made in Germany” on its vehicles, while getting closer to its competitors. A strategic choice that may make the difference. By the end of the year, Tesla plans to produce 5,000 to 10,000 vehicles per week. To face this new European competition, Volkswagen, which produced around 450,000 electric vehicles worldwide last year, plans to build a new factory in Wolfsburg. It is due to open in 2026.