Tesla factory in Grünheide: Production of Model Y started in test run

Officially, the new Tesla factory in Grünheide near Berlin has not yet been opened and final approval is still pending. However, for a test run, Tesla Model Y electric cars are already being produced behind closed doors.

Tesla Grünheide starts production

Tesla, the US manufacturer of electric cars has already produced its first e-cars behind closed doors of its new factory in Grünheide near Berlin. In order to get early approval for individual construction steps, some cars must also be produced on site, Tesla revealed in a statement on Monday.

However, it said they are only for testing purposes in Grünheide or at external facilities. The parts produced in the process are likely to be sold. The official test run in the new Tesla factory, however, had not yet begun. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, on the other hand, hopes that the first cars can be produced in Grünheide before the end of this year.

According to the magazine Automobilwoche, five Tesla Model Ys have already been manufactured in the Gigafactory near Berlin. From the beginning of January 2022, an initial 1,000 units per week were to be produced, with production then ramping up further in the middle of the year. Tesla itself did not comment on these figures or the specific plans.

Tesla Grünheide: 500,000 cars per year

Around 12,000 employees are to be employed at the new Tesla factory in Grünheide, where the company says it will produce around 500,000 electric cars a year. The problem: approval from the state of Brandenburg for the factory is currently pending. Whether the factory can open this year is currently still up in the air.

The state is currently reviewing the comments of critics from a repeated online discussion. In addition, important documents from authorities and from Tesla itself are still pending.

Conservationists and environmentalists, as well as local residents, remain skeptical about the Tesla factory. They fear negative consequences for the entire environment. For example, the factory’s water consumption is criticized, but Tesla says this is not a problem.

Tesla boss Musk also wants to build a large battery factory at the Grünheide plant. To this end, the automaker recently surprisingly waived a possible government subsidy in the billions for the planned battery production. The reason for this could possibly be that the subsidy would cause a delay in mass production.