Tesla broke ground at its new Gigafactory in Berlin, Germany late last month and is expected to start production at the site as early as July 2021.
However, it has been prompted to tweak its plans. It was only in February that a German court granted Tesla permission to clear part of a forest for the Berlin factory and already huge progress has been made at the site, including the clearing of the forest and the leveling out of the ground.
New blueprints set to be presented this week or the next one will address some concerns of environmental critics and include a reduction in the amount of freshwater required and wastewater created at the site.
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Tesla Model Y
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk says the facility will produce batteries, powertrains, and vehicles, starting with the Model Y. He wants to see the first Model Ys rolling off the production line by July 2021. The schedule was recently echoed by the economy minister in the state of Brandenburg, Joerg Steinbach, despite the new plans.
“We expect a proposal that in sum will be more environmentally acceptable and thereby even more approvable,” Steinbach told AutoNews. “I assume that within the first half of next year cars will be rolling off the conveyor belt there.”
Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory project could be worth as much as €4 billion ($4.5 billion) and lead to the employment of 12,000 people who would build 500,000 vehicles annually.
Note: Opening image is the Tesla factory in New York.