GigaBerlin Battery Expansion

Statements coming out of Germany this week are clearing up some misconceptions about Tesla’s plans for battery production and expansion at Giga berlin.

Mayor Arne Cristiani confirmed that a planned battery plant at the Giga Factory site - part of a reported 100 hectare expansion plan - is still on the table. The proposed battery plant would produce cells for Tesla vehicles built at GigaBerlin, and create an estimated 2000 jobs in the region. 

This is part of the ongoing strategy for Tesla, which has prioritised moving as much of the production loop in-house as possible to save on transportation costs, and boost efficiency.

But earlier reporting seemed to point to the expansion being on hold for a number of reasons - and that the municipal council agenda appeared to have stricken mention of this huge construction plan off their schedule.

But Mayor Cristiani cleared that up by reminding folks that Tesla had applied for its GigaBerlin extension in May, and so the application was being discussed by more relevant community groups before it would be able to be brought before the city council.

And local news weren’t the only ones confused. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Tesla was planning on delaying their battery production in Germany - shipping the equipment to the US in order to take advantage of new government incentives there. Tesla quickly debunked those reports, however.

The confusion could have originated from Tesla comments, saying that the company intends on focusing their efforts on US production, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to slow down anywhere else.

And especially considering battery manufacturing equipment has already been installed in GigaBerlin, it would be a very odd choice for Tesla to put their production plans there on hold.