According to the latest reports from Germany, Tesla is expected to receive final approval for Tesla Giga Berlin in Grünheide near Berlin in November.
Tesla's most important investment started in early 2020. The plant has been under construction since late May 2020, but the manufacturer had only "early approvals," which means that it could proceed at its own risk without the guarantee of the final approval.
A high number of objectives, including environmental ones, significantly slowed down the bureaucratic analysis of the investment. In August, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk said that electric car production hopefully will start in October or soon afterwards "...if we are fortunate.".
Business Insider (via Electrive) reports that several sources from government circles indicate that the long-awaited final overall approval will be granted in November.
However, there will be some strict water usage conditions applied as well as actions to prepare for possible toxic pollutant accidents.
In other words, there is a big chance that Tesla will be able to start the production of the Model Y in Germany in November or December. Currently, the Model Y sold in Europe comes from China.
At this point, it's not yet clear whether Tesla will initially stick with the 2170-type cylindrical cells for a while, or will try to start with the new 4680-type cylindrical cells and structural battery packs (the cells would have to be shipped from the U.S. as there is no cell production ready at the site yet).
Let's take a look at the flyover videos recorded at the site within last several days (battery cell plant is in an early stage of construction - see at 16:00):
See also
Tesla Gigafactory 4 (aka Tesla Giga Berlin) at brief:
- located in the Berlin-area (in Grünheide, Brandenburg, Germany), near the new airport
- preparations started in mid-February 2020, while construction works started in late May 2020
- to produce Model 3/Y starting in 2021 with the Model Y
- will produce also batteries (for sure modules/packs) and powertrains
- expected volume of 500,000 annually (unofficial target), initially 150,000
- expected investment of €4 billion (unofficial)
- expected 10,000 jobs (unofficial)
- Tesla Model Y to utilize: 4680 battery cells, structural battery packs, mega castings (front and rear part of the car) and innovative paint process (Geico Taikisha)
- the plant is expected to produce 4680-type cylindrical cells