Tesla starts up battery plant in Grünheide

Production of the first battery components has kicked off at Tesla’s German factory in Grünheide. Jörg Steinbach, Brandenburg’s Minister of Economic Affairs, informed the state parliament after visiting the factory. Tesla itself has not yet commented on the commissioning.

For the time being, the factory is only producing individual components. Further production steps have been relocated to the USA since Tesla could benefit from a number of incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act there. A step Tesla confirmed already back in September 2022.

According to Steinbach, however, the building is humming. “It’s full,” the politician told Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb). And, “what is manufactured there as a preliminary product at the place, loads this building completamente at the place.”

Last autumn, the carmaker announced that it wanted to expand the site in Grünheide and ramp up the production of the vehicles. At the time, Tesla spoke of increasing capacity from 500,000 to more than one million electric cars annually. However, according to Steinbach, the company has not yet submitted the expansion plan application.

It recently became known that Tesla is still waiting for subsidies for its vehicle plant in Grünheide. The carmaker had already submitted the application in November 2020, but probably changed the requested amount so often that it is still available for review in Brussels. Tesla had declined grants from the EU for battery production because the company did not agree with the funding conditions.

Meanwhile, Tesla will reportedly suspend production in China starting this weekend. According to Bloomberg, this comes as the carmaker is reading to upgrade the facility there for the production of the new version of its Model 3 sedan. The facility will remain offline until the end of the month.

To spur demand and lower inventory, Tesla cut prices of its Model 3 and Model Y at the beginning of the year. A move that apparently worked. The carmaker then reportedly increased production at its Shanghai plant earlier this month.

Business is also booming in the US, especially for the Tesla Model Y. According to Electrek, there were so many Model Y sold that all production slots for this quarter have already been allocated. Contributing to the high demand is likely the fact that all variants of the Model Y now qualify for the federal tax credit. In addition, the price cuts have ensured that the Model 3 and Model Y are now eligible again in California.

rbb24.de, moz.de (battery plant; both links in German), bloomberg.com (paywall) via reuters.com, electrek.co, electrek.co (California)