Tesla's operations in Europe got a major boost this week after a spokesperson for the environmental ministry in the German state of Brandenburg announced that the Tesla Giga Berlin facility is in the final phase of the approval process.
Tesla has long been waiting for this license approval from German authorities to finally begin producing electric vehicles and batteries at its Giga Berlin facility. Tesla's factory in Germany has been in limbo for months after the automaker failed to secure the needed environmental permit to start producing electric vehicles for customer deliveries.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed his frustration on multiple occasions with the complexity of German bureaucracy as the opening of the Tesla Giga Berlin suffered many delays. Some members of the German population opposed the building of the site, pointing out its negative impact on the environment. Legal battles and hold-ups emerged with Tesla facing issues such as the facility affecting the region's water supply.
German news agency Tagesspiegel reported that with final approval set to be given on Friday, March 4, it is expected that Tesla will hold an official delivery event towards the end of this month to celebrate Giga Berlin's grand opening.
Musk will be arriving in Germany in the middle of March to attend this event, which is expected to host 500 guests, including German chancellor Olaf Scholz and other top officials. Around 30 customers will take delivery of their brand new German-made Model Ys at Giga Berlin's opening ceremony.
Preparation for the official production launch in Germany is already underway, with several finished Model Y units parked outside Giga Berlin's walls. Tesla is testing out new production methods that the company will utilize in Germany, one of which is giant casting machines called "Giga-Presses."
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Giga Berlin's opening is integral for Tesla Australia, and the company's other Pacific markets as the world's leading electric car maker is currently exporting its EVs mainly from China to Europe. That has forced the launch of Model Y to be delayed in Australia, while wait times for Tesla's popular Model 3 vehicles have been pushed back to July at the earliest.
As soon as Tesla can ramp up its vehicle production in Germany, other key markets such as Australia stand to benefit as they could now be served with vehicles coming from Tesla's factory in Shanghai.
With Tesla also announcing plans to build a second Gigafactory in Shanghai, more vehicle exports are expected to be made available to Australia and other neighboring markets in the Pacific region. According to the China Passenger Car Association(CPCA), Tesla made almost 60,000 electric vehicles in Shanghai in January, exporting two-thirds of those cars.
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