Tesla is in the process of building its second Gigafactory outside the U.S. in Germany, and while the road has been full of speed bumps, especially compared to the incredible speed at which the company’s Shanghai Gigafactory was completed, the end of the road may finally be in sight for the new production facility.
Brandenburg Minister of Economics Jörg Steinbach said he expects a decision on Tesla Gigafactory Berlin’s final permit approval by the fourth quarter of this year, according to Berlin.de (via GF4Tesla).
The move comes after a number of delays to Tesla’s Grünheide factory, which began construction last July and is set to finish by the end of this year – provided no other delays come up, says Steinbach.
Tesla’s Berlin Factory Start Date: End of 2021 Says Elon Musk https://t.co/gSxv7OYkVi
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) May 17, 2021
Steinbach said, “The principle of quality over speed clearly applies in the approval process. The top priority is that the decision of the State Office for the Environment is ultimately legally secure. And the factory can only be opened once a positive approval decision has been made.”
While the site was originally planned for completion in July, Tesla has faced construction delays due to environmental criticisms, hibernating snakes (twice), and a generally slow approval process from the German government, according to the company.
Once up and running, Giga Berlin will be producing Tesla’s Model Y for Europe, along with other vehicle offerings for the region.
