Tesla in Berlin
The Tesla factory in Berlin opened its doors to visitors on Saturday. CEO Elon Musk gave a speech, announcing plans to produce 5,000 to 10,000 cars a day, the timing of the launch of battery production, and the challenges of mass production.
Tesla's first European plant (TSLA) on the outskirts of Berlin-Grünheide, Brandenburg, hosted visitors for tours this weekend, and Elon Musk's CEO spoke about the launch details.
Receipt of all final approvals and approval from the Ministry of the Environment for the launch of this Tesla plant is expected on 14 October. Brandenburg's economy minister has estimated the plant's chances of getting a permit to operate at 95%.
According to Musk, the first cars could roll off the factory's assembly line as early as next month, but "it will take longer to achieve mass production than it does to build the plant".
Tesla plans to hire at least 12,000 workers for the plant, but Musk has pointed to problems hiring staff.
The CEO of Tesla said: "We're a bit worried that we won't be able to find enough people. We really need great talent to come here from all over Europe."
The Tesla Gigafactory Berlin has a maximum capacity of 500,000 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) per year, which is more than double Germany's BEV production in 2020.
Current production forecasts for the Tesla Berlin factory: between 5,000 and 10,000 vehicles per day. Meanwhile, the company plans to start battery production by the end of 2022. The Gigafactory Berlin will produce the increasingly popular Model Y with a new battery design and new technology.
Tesla will announce its financial results for Q3 2021 on October 20 after the market closes.
Tesla shares, up 14.55% in the last quarter and 11.3% since the start of 2021, were down 1.02% on Friday as Elon Musk announced a delay in the release of the latest version of Tesla's autonomous driving software for electric cars. Musk has promised that the update will be released on Monday night.
