Tesla is reportedly finally going to receive final approval to start production at Gigafactory Berlin this week after months of delays.
Gigafactory Berlin, a critical new factory for Tesla’s plans to expand in Europe and improve its manufacturing and distribution efficiency, has been in limbo for months.
The automaker has yet to secure the needed environmental permit to start producing vehicles for customer deliveries.
Last month, Tesla confirmed that it built the first few Model Ys at Gigafactory Berlin at the end of 2021.
The automaker also received approval to build 2,000 Model Y bodies at Gigafactory Berlin ahead of the final approval by the state of Brandenburg.
Tesla said it needed to conduct more tests of its production process, and it hasn’t been approved to deliver those vehicles.
However, it looks like the factory is up and running with hundreds of new Model Y vehicles spotted coming out of the factory last week.
Despite this important development, there was no news on Tesla receiving its environmental approval with still more talks of concerns over water supply at the plant.
Now a week later, it looks like things are moving ahead.
German newspaper Tagesspiegel reports that Brandenburg Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke met with a special task force for the Tesla project last week and that the team managed to agree on the environmental approval of the project.
The approval is expected by the end of the week – likely Thursday or Friday.
This approval will enable Tesla to start producing Model Y vehicles for customer deliveries, which are now expected to happen by the end of March.
The same report also states that Tesla is planning a “grand opening” ceremony, likely on March 22 or 23, to deliver the first vehicles built at Gigafactory Berlin.
Interestingly, it looks like the start of deliveries at Gigafactory Berlin will coincide with the start of deliveries from Gigafactory Texas, which is also expected to have its first new Model Y in customer’s hands by the end of March.
However, the new Model Ys from Texas are expected to feature Tesla’s new 4680 battery cells while the new Model Ys from Germany are going to be equipped with the 2170 cell format.
Tesla has yet to update the specs of the new vehicles about to be delivered.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
