Tesla delivers the first cars from Giga Germany
Tesla delivered the first cars from its new factory in Germany.
CEO Elon Musk handed over 30 Model Y Performance crossovers to customers during a grand opening ceremony at the factory, which is variously known as Giga Germany or Giga Berlin.
First announced in November 2019, the factory is located in Grunheide, near the German capital. It marks Tesla’s first foray into Europe, which is becoming a more important market for electric vehicles thanks to stricter emissions standards. According to the report, the licensing delay meant that Tesla had previously shipped cars from China to Europe to meet demand pending the opening of a factory in Germany.
First Model Y delivery at Giga Berlin pic.twitter.com/JCneGrBJRA
– Tesla (@Tesla) March 22, 2022
While the project is said to have been fast-tracked by the German bureaucracy, opposition from local environmental groups has slowed progress and even caused Tesla to consider downsizing the factory. Those concerns continued in recent months, and two protesters blocked traffic after the opening event, Reuters reported.
Tesla Model Y
According to reports, at full capacity, the German plant will be able to produce 500,000 cars per year and 50 GWh of batteries. The new factory could help Tesla secure what one analysis calls “a lucrative source of revenue“from regulatory credits — along with simple cost-cutting if it were to ship cars from China to Europe.
Meanwhile, a New factory near Austin, Texas, that was announced after the factory in Germany, is thriving. The Texas plant is expected to initially focus on Model Y production, using Tesla’s new 4680 format cells. It was also prepped to build the Cybertruck, but that model has been delayed again, this time to 2023.