US electric car manufacturer Tesla wants to expand in Grünheide
Created: 05/05/2022Updated: 05/05/2022 16:44
The construction site of the Tesla factory in Berlin Brandenburg.
© Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
Tesla's first electric car factory in Europe has been in production since March, and the battery factory is under construction.
But the company probably has plans to build even more.
Grünheide - Tesla wants to expand its car factory in Germany.
According to the Brandenburg state government, the US electric car manufacturer is planning to expand the site in Grünheide near Berlin.
"Tesla's plans to acquire additional land east of the Tesla site are known to the state government," said the spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment, Frauke Zelt, on Thursday on request.
The Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), citing unspecified authorities, reported that the company wanted to buy around 100 hectares east of the car factory for a freight station and storage space.
The Ministry of the Environment explained that the department currently has no concrete offer.
The Tesla site has so far covered around 300 hectares.
On March 22, Tesla opened the new car factory in Grünheide in Brandenburg - in the presence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and company boss Elon Musk.
In the first expansion stage, 500,000 vehicles a year are to roll off the assembly line.
According to the company, however, it is only gradually ramping up production - it is still unclear when the number will be reached.
The planned battery factory, in which Musk wants to manufacture his own modern battery cells, is currently still under construction.
The state of Brandenburg approved the car and battery factory in March.
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In Tesla's updated application from last year, there is no mention of a freight depot.
It only says that there is a main track in the GVZ Freienbrink commercial area with a direct connection to the Berlin - Moscow route and the Berlin railway ring.
There is a siding there on the factory premises.
The RBB wrote that six hectares of the site planned for purchase belonged to the electricity supplier Edis and the rest to the state of Brandenburg.
Tesla initially did not comment on the report.
However, such a site would have to be designated as an industrial area, which requires an updated development plan.
Environmentalists fear negative consequences with the settlement.
Tesla has not yet met all the requirements, but according to the Brandenburg state government, it only needs to check off the requirements for the system parts of ongoing operation.
The release of a water-polluting substance in the paint shop caused a stir in April.
According to Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens), there was never a risk of entry into the groundwater or the sewage system.
dpa
