- Title: Dancing Musk hands drivers first Teslas from new German gigafactory
- Date: 22nd March 2022
- Summary: GRUENHEIDE, GERMANY (MARCH 22, 2022) (REUTERS) PAN ACROSS GIGAFACTORY VARIOUS OF TESLA MODELS PARKED IN FRONT OF FACTORY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTESTERS GATHERING NEAR FACTORY PROTESTERS WITH FACTORY IN BACKGROUND PROTESTERS HOLDING PLACARDS READING (German): 'Tesla there, river Spree gone' and 'GIGA-Greenwashing' PLACARD READING (English): 'WATER IS A HUMAN RIGHT - STOP EXPLOITA
- Embargoed: 5th April 2022 15:54
- Keywords: BRANDENBURG ELON MUSK GIGAFACTORY OLAF SCHOLZ PROTEST TESLA
- Location: Gruenheide, GERMANY
- City: Gruenheide, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Europe,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA006634422032022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Elon Musk was cheered as he oversaw the handover of Tesla's TSLA.O first German-made cars at its Gruenheide plant on Tuesday (March 22), marking the start of the U.S. automaker's inaugural European hub just two years after it was first announced.
Loud music played as 30 clients and their families got a first glimpse of their shining new vehicles through a glitzy, neon-lit Tesla branded tunnel, clapping and cheering as Tesla Chief Executive Musk danced and joked with fans.
"This is a great day for the factory," Musk said, describing it as "another step in the direction of a sustainable future".
Although German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who also attended the event, lauded the gigafactory as the future of the car industry, it has faced opposition and some environmental activists blocked the factory's entrance while displaying banners flagging its high water use.
Two protestors abseiled from a motorway sign near the factory, blocking traffic for hours after the event.
Musk had hoped to begin output from the factory eight months ago, but licensing delays and local concerns around the plant's environmental impact held up the process.
It got the final go-ahead from local authorities on March 4 to begin production in Germany, provided it met conditions ranging from its water use to air pollution controls.
The chosen Tesla clients will receive the Model Y Performance configuration, a vehicle costing 63,990 euros ($70,491.38) with a 514 km (320 miles) range, the company said, adding that new orders from the plant could be delivered from April.
Tesla said that around 3,500 of the plant's expected 12,000 workers have been hired so far.
The licensing delay meant Tesla had to service earlier European orders from its Shanghai factory, driving up costs.
"Makes a huge difference to capital efficiency to localize production within a continent," Musk tweeted.
At full capacity, the plant will produce 500,000 cars a year, more than the 450,000 battery-electric vehicles that German rival Volkswagen sold globally in 2021.
It will also generate 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery power, surpassing all other plants Germany.
For now, Volkswagen still has the inside track in the race to electrify Europe's fleet, with a 25% market share to Tesla's 13%. Musk has said ramping up production would take longer than the two years it took to build the plant.
(Production: Stefan Remter, Hung Trinh, Nadine Schimroszik, Ulrike Heil) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None