Tesla Finally Receives German Plant Approval

Electric vehicle maker Tesla has finally received approval from a key German regulator after its Austin EV manufacturer’s request.

“The approval procedure was a mammoth task for us,” Dietmar Woidke, Brandenburg State Premier, said during a press conference that was streaming live on Twitter on Friday.

Woidke announced earlier that the final construction permit for the Berlin Gigafactory has been issued and given to Tesla by the Brandenburg state environment office.

Tesla had been waiting for this approval for several months to start manufacturing vehicles in this gigafactory, which will primarily serve the European market.

“Today in the special meeting was the 600 pages permit handed over to Tesla,” Woitke confirmed, saying that the production process can start after the conditions in it are met.

Woidke said almost 3,000 employees are working already in the plant and daily new ones are added.

It was on Thursday that financial newspaper Handelsblatt reported that the permit was given to Tesla, and that Woidke would comment on details of the approval decision at a news conference in
Potsdam on Friday.

Tesla plans to build the Model Y SUV at the plant. It is aiming to build up to 10,000 vehicles a week.

Competitor Lucid Group (LCID) had just announced an agreement with Saudi Arabia to start construction of its first international factory in the Kingdom during the current first half. The company expects to manufacture as many as 150,000 vehicles a year at the facility.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.