Elon Musk shares render of Tesla’s ‘Gigafactory’ Berlin that will open in 2021 and be the automaker’s first full vehicle factory in Europe
- The vast construction facility is being being in Grünheide, 25 miles from Berlin
- When completed, it will produce battery parts, power trains and Model Y cars
- This ‘Gigafactory 4’ will join its predecessors in Nevada, New York and Shanghai
- It is unclear if the plant will have the ‘mega rave cave’ Mr Musk previously teased
Elon Musk has shared a render of Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin Brandenburg that will open in 2021 and be the automaker’s first full vehicle factory in Europe.
The enormous construction plant — which is being built in Grünheide, 25 miles south-east of Berlin — will be the firm’s fourth such factory.
When completed, the plant is expected to produce battery parts and powertrains for use in Tesla cars, as well as the Tesla Model Y, an electric crossover utility vehicle.
Elon Musk has shared a render of Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin Brandenburg, pictured, that will open in 2021 and be the automaker’s first full vehicle factory in Europe
First announced in 2019, construction and foundation work began at the 300-hectare site on the Freienbrink industrial park, pictured with the surround man-made pine forest in June 2020
First announced in 2019, construction and foundation work began at the 300-hectare site on the Freienbrink industrial park in June 2020.
The digital render of the sizeable facility appears to show a large reception centre, some form of water feature or pool, green space and seating area on an upper floor and a roof lined with multiple arrays of solar panels.
Chimneys for the factory have been ‘carefully hidden’, Mr Musk added, when asked why they were not obvious in the three-dimensional mock-up.
Work on the site was delayed at the beginning of the year when an environmental group — the Green League Brandenburg — appealed in the local courts against deforestation of parts of the man-made pine forest that occupies the site.
When up and running, the plant is reportedly expected to be able to produce some 150,000 vehicles per year — with the goal of eventually reaching 500,000 annually — and will initially employ up to 12,000 people.
‘Gigafactory is the product even more than the car,’ Mr Musk tweeted in response to a question about whether each of the production facilities improved on the last.
The enormous construction plant — which is being built in Grünheide, 25 miles south-east of Berlin — will be the firm’s fourth such factory. Pictured: Gigafactory 1, in Nevada, the US
Mr Musk had previously teased in a Twitter poll that the Gigafactory Berlin might even feature a so-called ‘mega rave cave’ underneath the production floor.
When asked about the feature — and whether there were also renderings of such — the Tesla CEO responded there ‘might be an indoor/outdoor rave space on the roof.’
The Gigafactory Berlin will join its three existing counterparts — Gigafactory 1, in Nevada, Gigafactory 2 in New York and Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, China.
The enormous construction plant — which is being built in Grünheide, 25 miles south-east of Berlin — will be the firm’s fourth such factory