Tesla production start in Brandenburg is further delayed

Created: 2022-02-09 18:41

The construction site of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin Brandenburg.

© Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Archive image

The start of production at the first European Tesla factory in Grünheide near Berlin has been further delayed.

The approval process is "in the final phase," said the responsible department head in the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment, Axel Steffen, on Wednesday evening.

“But that doesn’t mean that the decision can be handed out tomorrow.

Potsdam - That will take some time."

Steffen in the state parliament's environmental committee did not want to confirm or deny a report by rbb, according to which the first electric cars for sale would not be produced in Grünheide until mid-March at the earliest.

He said he didn't want to get involved in speculation.

But the procedure teaches that further delays must always be expected at short notice.

more on the subject

State government: Water supply secured around Tesla

Father is said to have offered three-year-old child for abuse

Tesla buys its own track for shuttle train to factory

At the time of an approval notice, he could not say anything, added Steffen.

Even after that, it does not go into operation immediately, but the project developer has to meet other requirements and, among other things, provide evidence.

The actual production process cannot start the day after the decision.

"In case of doubt, it will take a few more weeks," said Steffen.

The US car manufacturer Tesla actually wanted to start production in Grünheide as early as 2021.

Up to 500,000 electric cars a year are to be manufactured there.

But the final approval of the responsible authorities is still missing.

Environmentalists object, among other things, because of possible environmental risks and the high water consumption for production.

dpa