Berlin Clearing For Expansion

Tesla's next big expansion has begun at their Berlin Gigafactory, starting with some logging.

The machines rolling in to clear space for the next phase of GigaBerlin's expansion have cleared about 170 acres of forest - just a bit smaller than the original 220 acres that was cleared when the original factory broke ground.

In total, Tesla owns over 740 acres of land which had been covered in a cultivated pine forest originally meant for cardboard production. 

Local environmental groups have been famously unhappy that such a large patch of trees was being destroyed, but Tesla won their day in court and has pledged to plant new trees to make up for the loss of the pine plantation - even though it was going to be cut down for cardboard anyway.

So, with all the environmental concerns covered - at least enough for the local Brandenburg government - Tesla is pushing ahead with this next major expansion. The only question is: what's going to be built there?

Well, we know Tesla is always looking to ramp up production, and GigaBerlin recently grabbed permits for an expansion which includes a freight depot, train station, a kindergarten, and a bunch of logistics areas to support the increased production that's sure to be coming.

That's the best bet for what is going to be built in this 170 acre plot, but we should also remember that Tesla is planning on starting - and expanding - battery production at GigaBerlin, so that's also a contender. And who knows? If they stack everything efficiently, maybe they could put all of that in this construction.

Regardless, tree-clearing is a good sign that construction will be starting soon. Utilities and other underground infrastructure will be next, and then we'll likely see the foundations being laid. 

Tesla's getting pretty efficient at this by now, so it shouldn't be more than a couple of months before we're breaking down the specifics of this new facility.