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Tesla boss Elon Musk:
Musk is handing over the first Model Y from the Grünheide plant to customers himself today
Photo:
NADINE SCHIMROSZIK / REUTERS
After a good two years of construction, the US company Tesla officially opened its first factory in Europe on Tuesday.
Company
boss Elon Musk
(50) came to his "Gigafactory" in Grünheide to hand over the first Tesla electric cars made in Germany to customers.
The federal government and the state of Brandenburg are celebrating the billion dollar project with future 12,000 employees and a target of 500,000 cars per year as a signal.
"Electromobility will shape the mobility of the future," said Federal Chancellor
Olaf Scholz
(63).
The project shows: "Germany can be fast."
Federal Minister of Economics
Robert Habeck
(52)
said this is a special day for the mobility transition.
Tesla chose Germany because the company expects the lead market for electromobility to be here.
That is also his goal, said the minister.
He is pleased that the move away from oil is getting new impetus.
Tesla founder Musk said with regard to climate change, the problem will be solved.
This factory is a big step there.
The 50-year-old also tweeted "Thank you Germany!!"
and provided his short message with four federal flags.
Shareholders also celebrated on the stock exchange.
Tesla stock continued to expand its gains throughout trading on Tuesday, closing around 8 percent higher at $994.
Within a week, Tesla shares have gained almost 20 percent and are once again approaching the psychologically important $1,000 mark.
Since its record high of around $1,200 at the beginning of the year, the stock has at times lost more than 30 percent in value.
But since its interim low at the beginning of March, the paper has increased significantly again.
The acceleration of the transition to electromobility and the opening of the Gigafactory in Grünheide play Tesla into the cards.
Concern about drinking water
Environmentalists, on the other hand, continue to protest against the mega-project, mainly out of concern for the supply of drinking water in the region.
Concerns and objections in the process were ignored and "rights perverted," said the Grünheide citizens' initiative.
Tesla electric cars weighing tons are “anything but climate-friendly” in terms of production, use and disposal.
Musk announced the billion-euro investment near Berlin in November 2019 and started construction in February 2020.
Tesla initially relied on early approvals from the state of Brandenburg.
Musk originally wanted to produce in Grünheide from mid-2021.
The approval took longer than planned, partly because Tesla only registered a battery factory afterwards.
This is still under construction.
Approval only two weeks ago
The final approval for the plant - Tesla speaks of production units on a total area of over 227,000 square meters and investments in the single-digit billions - only came about two weeks ago, when trial operation was already underway.
Tesla tried to work off the conditions quickly.
According to the company, more than 3,000 people are already working in Grünheide.
We are looking for more employees in dozens of divisions.
Green politician Habeck said: "Of course, this short period of factory construction can also be a bit of a requirement for Tesla's pace in other areas."
He praised Musk's approach as "a different corporate daring culture".
The Federal Government Commissioner for the East,
Carsten Schneider
(46), cheered on Twitter: "Something is going on in the East!"
The Model Y Performance, a mid-range car weighing around two tons with an official range of a good 500 kilometers, will initially be produced in Grünheide.
The company specifies the starting price at 63,990 euros.
The new factory puts German manufacturers under pressure.
However, they too are now relying heavily on electric cars and have comparable models at the start.
The Federation of German Industries praised the relatively quick implementation of the project.
"The pace at Tesla must serve as a model for investment projects in Germany," said BDI President
Siegfried Russwurm
(58)
.
The intensive support from the state government accelerated the process considerably.
German companies wanted similar backing for every approval process.
IG Metall also welcomed the launch of the Tesla factory.
However, when it comes to working conditions, Tesla is lagging behind in a domestic German comparison, said district manager
Birgit Dietze
(49).
Scholz
warns of "deglobalization"
Federal Chancellor
Olaf
Scholz
(63) has warned against reversing the globalization of the economy in view of the worldwide tensions.
"In my view, that would deprive the world and all of us of great prosperity," said Scholz.
The US company Ford had already set up a plant in Germany in 1925.
German companies, for their part, invested in the USA, in China and in many other places around the world.
"We need global competition and not deglobalization. That's going wrong," added Scholz.
At the Tesla opening, Scholz also pointed out the need to accelerate planning in Germany.
"Germany can be fast," he said, referring to the quick approval and construction of the auto plant in Brandenburg.
The federal government wants to achieve a significant reduction in planning and approval times this year so that wind and solar systems can be built more quickly.
la/sio/dpa