The Tesla Gigafactory Berlin sees its expansion caught up in German bureaucracy again as the vote to approve the project has been suspended, but it still looks like the vote should take place by the end of the year.
The automaker’s experience building Gigafactory Berlin and Gigafactory Texas simultaneously has set the tone for Tesla’s future factory projects.
The key takeaway is that the automaker wants a simpler approval process — something closer to what it’s seen in Texas than in Germany, where Tesla experienced multiple delays due to regulatory approval.
For a potential factory coming to Canada, Tesla has urged the government to help negotiate with the provinces for a faster permitting process.
Tesla is currently ramping up production at the Gigafactory Berlin from 1,000 vehicles per week to a target of 5,000 vehicles per week by the end of the year.
To support further capacity expansion, Tesla plans to develop another 100 hectares to build a freight depot, train station, training center and kindergarten, as well as other logistics areas to support production.
The expansion project was supposed to be presented to Grünheide, the town near Berlin where the Gigafactory is located, but Arne Christiani, Mayor of Grünheide, confirmed that it was delayed.
Germany’s RBB confirms (translated from German):
At the beginning of June, the Grünheide main committee approved the plans of the US electric car manufacturer to expand its factory premises and recommended that the municipal council initiate a procedure for a new development plan. However, Christiani took the item off the agenda shortly before the municipal council meeting. “There is still a need for clarification,” he said at the time. “That’s why the development plan is not on the agenda of the next meeting,” Christiani explained on Wednesday. He could not estimate whether the topic would be dealt with this year.
As with the original project, regulators often asked Tesla for more information, leading to multiple approval delays.
It looks like a vote on approving the expansion of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin will take place later this year. It’s unclear at this point whether this will impact Tesla’s production ramp-up schedule.
While Tesla is targeting 5,000 vehicles per week by the end of the year, the automaker has significantly bigger ambitions for the plant. It has previously said it could produce up to 1 million vehicles a year at the factory.
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