Breaking: Tesla Approves Gigafactory 4's Land Purchase Contract

The purchase contract for Gigafactory 4 land has been approved by Tesla. Work on the estimated 300-hectare GF4 forest started earlier this month with the arrival of ammunition recovery teams. The groundbreaking ceremony has yet to be announced by either Tesla or the Brandenburg local government. 

According to Tagesspiegel, top management at Tesla—directly under Elon Musk—signed the purchase contract for the Gigafactory 4 forest recently. As a result, the EV automaker is one step closer to GF4’s fruition. 

Meanwhile on the construction site #Gigafactory4,
The temporary access road was extended to the
"big mountain of rubble" ⛰ 😉
to ensure that construction vehicles could transport the mountain away.🚜 pic.twitter.com/GQ0SjHfBLg

— #Gf4 #Gigafactory4 (@Gf4Tesla) January 19, 2020

Tesla signing the purchase contract is the third round of approvals it has had to undergo. First, local Bradenburg officials signed the sales contract for the GF4 forest on December 20, 2019. Then it was passed on to the Finance Committee, which approved the deal on January 9, 2020. 

Based on a draft of the purchase contract, Tesla could be paying only 40.91 million euros for the estimated 300-hectare GF4 forest or about 13.52 euros per square meter. According to Bild, the EV tech innovator received a good deal for the GF4 forest. In comparison, land in Freienbrink, which is right next to Gigafactory 4’s future site, comes at about 40 euros per square meter. 

Tesla released information about its plans for the GF4 forest in the future. The Gigafactory 4 complex will cover 3,041,216 sqm (75.15 acres), according to Tesla’s Environmental Impact Study. Phase 1 of GF4 will take up 1,522,300 sqm (376.17 acres) of space out of the 3 million sqm complex. The GF4 plant will eat up 587, 721(145.23 acres) out of the 1,522,300 sqm for Phase 1. The rest of the more than 1 million sqm space will be parking lots, roads, railroads, and test tracks.

More information about Gigafactory 4 Phase 1 and its environmental impact was shared in Tesla’s report. Despite public access to these documents, however, it appears that some degree of FUD has still spread in Grünheide, Brandenburg—where GF4 will be built.  

#gruenheideforfuture
Although we were in the minority at our first "Pro TESLA " demo 😌 yesterday, and there was no or little press coverage in Germany, we still have the best and largest Tesla community on the net.❤✌👌
Thank you so much for all the good wishes.🙏💞🇩🇪🚗 pic.twitter.com/JfTpBIz5JM

— #Gf4 #Gigafactory4 (@Gf4Tesla) January 19, 2020

Yesterday, part of the Grünheide community held a demonstration to show their support for Gigafactory 4 and Tesla’s arrival in their part of the world. Coincidentally, a group of GF4 protesters marched by during the Tesla supporters' demonstration. It revealed how the Grünheide community is split about Tesla’s upcoming presence in the vicinity.

On the one hand, Tesla supporters believe that the EV company could boost Grünheide’s economy by providing jobs. On the other, Tesla supporters believe that Gigafactory 4’s construction could only damage the community’s environment. 

For its part, Tesla has opened a two-way communication with the locals of Grünheide. However, protests against the EV company’s presence in the community has not waned, at least for now.

Featured Image Credit: @Gf4Tesla/Twitter