Although Tesla may have been able to gain as much as 40 percent of its investments on the construction of its Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, the U.S. automaker did not want to wait for authorities to offer the incentive, according to one German minister.
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told reporters on Monday that Tesla did not wait for German authorities to decide whether to give the U.S. automaker the incentive before beginning construction on its new facility in Grünheide, Brandenburg, according to Reuters.
The reimbursement is a part of a European Union (EU) program trying to incentivize production companies to build in the region.
40 percent of Tesla’s investment into the Gigafactory would have equated to around 1.1 billion euros ($1.24 billion USD), which the program could have offered Tesla if it were to have waited.
Tesla pulled its application for state aid back in November, surprising many. The move allows Tesla to continue to be nimble and pave forward with its Giga Berlin plans independently.
“It has always been Tesla’s view that all subsidies should be eliminated,” said Musk at the time. “But that must include the massive subsidies for oil & gas. For some reason, governments don’t want to do that.”
It has always been Tesla’s view that all subsidies should be eliminated, but that must include the massive subsidies for oil & gas.
For some reason, governments don’t want to do that …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 26, 2021
Currently, Tesla has nearly completed its Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, and it even held a massive County Fair Event at the Germany factory in October.
Despite this, the company is still awaiting final approval from the German government on the Grünheide factory and is expected to gain it by the end of the year.
Earlier this year, Tesla also slammed Germany for its slow approval process, following a string of events causing Tesla to put a halt on the construction of the facility.
