Photo: Tobias Lindh
Just weeks after Tesla’s first Model 3 and Y units with a new AMD Ryzen Chip started delivering to Germany from Gigafactory Shanghai, the automaker has officially been approved to start building electric vehicles (EV) in the country.
Tesla was awarded conditional approval to begin commercial production at its Gigafactory Berlin on Friday, according to an announcement from local officials (via CNBC).
The news of the Brandenburg factory beginning production comes after several months of delays after the automaker’s initially planned start date of early summer 2021.
According to the Brandenburg press release, Tesla was granted environmental approval for the project with a whopping 536-page decision, that will allow for up to 500,000 cars made per year, aluminum smelting plants and an aluminum foundry, plants for surface treatment, heat generation and storage.
The approval also details the factory will include battery cell production, an operational wastewater treatment plant, a fire brigade equipment house, a high-bay warehouse, as well as laboratories and workshops.
Take a look at the paperwork involved with approving Giga Berlin:
Heute hat das für immissionsschutzrechtliche Genehmigungsverfahren zuständige Landesamt für Umwelt (#LfU) die Genehmigung für die #Tesla-Fabrik im brandenburgischen Grünheide (Landkreis Oder-Spree) erteilt und an den Vorhabenträger übergeben.
➡️https://t.co/twMe0gK0ib pic.twitter.com/BqdyD5sUuF
— MLUK Brandenburg (@MLUKBrandenburg) March 4, 2022
While some of the delays were caused by Germany’s in-depth approval process, others were caused by environmental activists criticizing Tesla, and they even caused a cable fire as an act of protest.
Prior to the cable fire, Tesla was forced to cease deforestation around the site due to hibernating snakes, as noted to authorities by environmental groups.
Tesla is set to gradually ramp up production now, with the Grünheide Tesla factory said to be targeting 1,000 cars per week by April.
