Tesla opens another plant: E-car pioneer increases the pressure on the competition

Created: 04/08/2022 10:29 am

Tesla: Just a few days after the start of production in Brandenburg, the e-car pioneer put its new plant in Texas into operation.

© Patrick Pleul/dpa

Tesla continues to increase the pressure on the competition: A good two weeks after the start of production in Brandenburg, the e-car pioneer put its new plant in Texas into operation.  

Austin – A few weeks after the start of the plant near Berlin*, the electric car manufacturer Tesla* is expanding its capacity with a second US factory in Texas.

The facility in Austin, near a Formula 1 racetrack*, will initially primarily build the compact SUV Model Y, which also rolls off the assembly line in Grünheide, Brandenburg.

In the coming year, production of the Cybertruck pick-up will also start in Texas, as Tesla boss Elon Musk* confirmed at the opening ceremony on Friday night.

In addition to finished vehicles, the plant also produces batteries.

Tesla urgently needed new production lines in North America because the main plant in California has reached its capacity limits.

The Cybertruck in particular is considered an important model for the US market, where pick-ups are the most popular vehicles.

Top dogs like Ford and General Motors, but also start-ups like Rivian are also pushing into the segment with electric models.

The angular Cybertruck made of stainless steel was originally announced for the end of 2021, but the start of production was postponed.

Tesla: CEO Elon Musk announces "Robotaxi".

At the event, Musk also said that Tesla will be developing a futuristic-looking robotaxi.

He gave no timeline or details about it.

In recent years, Musk has rather suggested that Tesla owners could make their commercial cars that are not currently needed available to others as autonomous taxis.

However, the dates he gave for such a "Tesla Network" passed, while Tesla's driving assistance software for the city is still struggling with problems.