Tesla’s German Gigafactory in Grünheide, Brandenburg, is said to start production in December, according to Automobilwoche (via Bloomberg).
According to the German publication, up to 30,000 cars will be produced at Giga Berlin in the first half of 2022. Local regulators will soon grant Tesla permits to start production within days, cite unnamed sources. Tesla wanted to start production in July but the factory did not gain environmental clearance at the time.
Automobilwoche says five Model Y vehicles have already been made at Giga Berlin, but these weren’t from the production line. Tesla is said to start production in January at the rate of 1,000 cars per week and ramp up numbers, says the German publication.
Tesla announced earlier this week it would be withdrawing from a government grant, for the battery cell facility at Gigafactory Berlin; the automaker turned down up to €1.14 billion ($1.28 billion USD) in government subsidies.
Speculation as to why Tesla declined funding? The Financial Times reports Tesla apparently will not meet a European Union requirement for funding, which states subsidies must be used at the “first industrial application” of a new technology; this means batteries would have to be made at the first Giga Berlin factory site in Grünheide.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter Friday “It has always been Tesla’s view that all subsidies should be eliminated, but that must include the massive subsidies for oil & gas.”
