Tesla CEO Elon Musk flew to Germany to visit Gigafactory Berlin, which is currently under construction. Like other Tesla Gigafactories, it’s being built at a very rapid pace. Musk stated to local media that production of the Model Y could start by year’s end. Construction of Giga Berlin started about a year ago, in May of 2020.
According to a Teslarati report, Musk landed in Germany on May 16th and apparently missed or possibly postposed a meeting with Jörg Steinbach, the Minister of Economics, Labor, and Energy for the State of Brandenburg. Steinbach recently debunked reports that Giga Berlin was facing a six-month delay and that the plant should open this year.
“It looks like we could start production at the end of the year,” Musk said. “You can only build cars when all the parts are in place.”
Tesla will start vehicle production before Giga Berlin gets its final approval from government regulators because the approval process takes years to complete. Government approvals have caused some delays and Tesla believes some are irritating.
“I think it would be better if there was less bureaucracy. On the other hand,” Musk continued, “more and more rules accumulate over time, and in the end, you can’t do anything.”
Tesla will also produce its new 4680 battery cells at the battery plant being built at Giga Berlin, but production of the cells likely won’t start for about two years. The Teslarati report states that 4680 battery cells will initially be sourced from Tesla’s Kato Road battery plant in California.
Back in February we reported that Giga Berlin would start production in mid-2021. Then last month we said production was pushed to October because of new documentation that Tesla needs to submit. The documentation then needs to be processed by government officials. Now, Tesla hopes production will start by the end of the year. Only time will tell.
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Source: Teslarati