Image: Tesla
Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin-Grünheide in Germany is expanding its production with a third shift now in use, according to managing director Jochem Freyer from the employment agency in Frankfurt (Oder), reports RBB (via @Berlinergy).
This means that only a few skilled workers are needed to meet the requirements of the third shift. The company currently employs around 10,000 people in Grünheide, and further stages of expansion are planned.
Tesla has achieved an interim goal with the production of 5,000 vehicles per week in Grünheide, which corresponds to around 250,000 vehicles per year. The announcement was made back in late March and comes after the one year anniversary of delivering the first Model Y vehicles to customers at Giga Berlin.
In the first stage of expansion, the company plans to roll off the assembly line 500,000 cars a year, or around 10,000 a week. Tesla plans to expand the plant further and produce a million cars, though the schedule for this is currently open, reports RBB.
The first application for partial approval has been submitted to the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment, but environmentalists have concerns about the expansion since part of the site is in a water protection area. However, according to the company, it does not need any additional water for the expansion because it intends to treat the wastewater.
Yesterday, Tesla announced record production and delivery numbers for Q1, with total production at 440,808 vehicles and deliveries at 422,875, with the growth of the latter at 36% year-over-year.