Tesla opens first factory in Europe
Created: 03/22/2022, 14:18
"Giga" is written on a tarpaulin on a scaffolding at the new Tesla factory in Berlin Brandenburg.
© Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
The US electric car maker Tesla officially opened its first factory in Europe on Tuesday.
CEO Elon Musk came to Grünheide near Berlin to hand over the first 30 copies of his Model Y to the new owners.
At the start of the plant, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Economics Minister Robert Habeck also praised the billion-euro investment.
Grünheide - Tesla had built the plant with future 12,000 employees and a target of 500,000 cars per year in just over two years.
Musk initially relied on early approvals from the state of Brandenburg.
The final approval only came about two weeks ago, when the factory had long since been completed and trial operation had begun.
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The state of Brandenburg and the federal government celebrate the settlement of the so-called gigafactory as a sign of departure for East Germany and the fast construction time as groundbreaking.
In fact, Musk wanted to start production as early as mid-2021.
The procedure was delayed, partly because Tesla only registered a battery factory afterwards.
This is still under construction.
Environmentalists criticize the project, among other things, because of the water consumption and protested against it at the opening.
dpa
