Will Tesla's Giga Berlin Start Production Before Giga Austin?
In China, Tesla turned a muddy field into a state-of-the-art electric vehicle factory in what seemed like no time at all. This was all amid major skepticism from the media stating that it would never happen, or that the red tape would cause significant delays. The same message has been ongoing related to the upcoming Tesla factory in Germany. However, there's a major difference between how the situation played out in China versus how it's going in Germany. The media was dead wrong about China, and mostly correct about Berlin, which comes as no surprise. We expected that rules, restrictions, protests, and red tape would plague Tesla in Germany, and to say it has is a massive understatement. Keep in mind, this is not to say that Tesla hasn't been the cause of some of the delays as well. On the flip side, Tesla's efforts in Texas seem to be rolling along just fine. While the Gigafactory in Austin is larger than the one in Berlin, and construction in Texas started later, it appears delays in Germany may lead to the Texas Tesla factory starting production first. We recently learned that Tesla's European customers will start seeing Model Y deliveries via vehicles produced in China, so it seems Tesla is planning for the worst. Brandenburg's Minister of Economics Jrg Steinbach offered up some good news recently, though it can also be seen as bad news overall since it arguably cements the fact that the Tesla factory in Berlin isn't likely to open soon. Steinbach shared that he expects final approval for Giga Berlin to happen in Q4 2021. While it's promising to learn that the final approval may happen this year, it also means that Model Y production in Europe probably won't begin until 2022, which substantiates other reports that Tesla production continues to be delayed in Germany. Without final approval, Tesla could face further delays, or, in the worst case, be expected to take down all buildings in Berlin and replace the forest it took down to begin construction. China and Texas have allowed Tesla to focus on a speedy construction process. However, in Germany, the focus is on the quality of the factory construction rather than the speed at which vehicle production can start.