Originally, Tesla wanted to start production in its Gigafactory near Berlin this summer.
Nothing will come of it, but Jörg Steinbach expects the first electric car to roll off the assembly line in 2021.
Grünheide - Despite delays in the construction of Tesla's e-car factory, Brandenburg's Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach (SPD) expects production in Grünheide to start this year.
"I hope that the first car that comes off the production line will be born in 2021," Steinbach told the "Handelsblatt" (Monday). The final environmental approval is still missing because of the corona pandemic, a hearing from critics of the project and the extended building application with battery factory. Tesla originally wanted to start in July 2021 and is now planning to commission the car factory near Berlin by the end of this year. At least 100,000 electric cars are to be manufactured there every year.
Steinbach sees the project as a model for other companies. "We are currently negotiating with several potential investors." These are all foreign companies. He called for the planning and approval law in Germany to be checked after the Tesla process was completed - with the federal government. “As far as the application of the Federal Emission Control Act and the associated approval procedures are concerned, we are perhaps in a tunnel of operational blindness and may not see the points that require modernization and less bureaucracy.” Tesla criticized the approval process for his work in April.
Despite the lack of a final permit from the State of Brandenburg, construction is well advanced. Conservationists and residents fear that the factory will have negative consequences for the environment. The Minister of Economic Affairs rejected the criticism from environmental associations for granting premature permits. “The legal framework allows pre-approval,” said Steinbach. The nature conservation associations Grüne Liga and Naturschutzbund Nabu in Brandenburg are taking legal action against early partial approval. dpa