Tesla and Chinese automakers slowly gaining ground against European brands, with plans to significantly increase production at the German Gigafactory. According to The New York Times, Musk and associates aim to flood the European market even more, causing greater concerns for competitors.
Tesla’s ambition is to manufacture 1 million cars in Germany. The current production capacity of the Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin stands at 500,000 electric vehicles annually. The factory began series production approximately 16 months ago, starting with the delivery of the first Model Y in Europe, and capacity has been gradually increasing since then. However, approval from authorities remains a crucial step.
Recent documents reveal Tesla’s efforts to seek approval for doubling production capacity in Germany, reaching up to 1 million cars per year. If the request is granted, Tesla would surpass even the record-breaking Volkswagen, capable of producing 815,000 cars annually in Wolfsburg.
As part of the application, an increase in additional production capacities is included
Tesla has not yet revealed which models the expanded car production at Gigafactory Berlin would involve. Besides the Model Y, which has been rolling off the production line from day one, the upcoming cheaper Tesla model could also be considered. However, these are currently just speculations.
The focus is not only on increasing capacities for electric car production. Tesla is also seeking approval from German authorities to double battery cell production, up to a capacity of 100 GWh per year.
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Alongside the production expansion, the number of employees is expected to rise. Currently, there are approximately 10,000 employees in Germany, but Tesla plans to create an additional 12,500 job positions, resulting in a total of around 22,500 employees. From a regional perspective, this would be highly appealing.
However, local environmental groups are opposed to the expansion, as they have long complained about Tesla depleting groundwater. Therefore, the plans for expanding the Berlin Tesla Gigafactory include the construction of water treatment facilities that would enable the factory to recycle water.
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