Gigafactory 4 Might be Tesla's Biggest Factory Yet

Gigafactory 4 is going to be bigger than Tesla’s other facilities in the United States, Europe, and China. The size difference of the facility dubbed "Gigafactory Berlin" may be an indication of what to expect from the facility in the future. 

According to BZ-Berlin, Tesla will be purchasing a 300-hectare lot for Gigafactory 4. It is expected to be a multi-million dollar deal. The exact location of the plant will be Grünheide, Germany, which is near an industrial park. Redditor u/MaChiMiB stated that the GF4 lot stretches 2,000 meters long or about 1.24 miles. 

On the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, redditor u/brandude87 posted scale comparisons of Gigafactory 4, GF3, GF2, the Tilburg Factory in the Netherlands, and Tesla’s Fremont Factory in California. The Reddit user provided scale comparisons for all of Tesla’s factory with and without construction borders. 

Credit: u/brandude8/Reddit

Regardless of the construction borders of each Tesla manufacturing facility, it is clear that Gigafactory 4 is going to be significantly bigger in scale compared to the automaker’s other factories. The size of GF4 may explain Tesla’s future plans for the facility. 

After Elon Musk dropped the news about Giga Berlin at the Golden Steering Wheel awards, he explained in a tweet that GF4 would be building batteries, powertrains, and vehicles, starting with Tesla’s all-electric crossover. The Model Y is expected to outsell the Model S, 3, and X combined, so Gigafactory 4’s vast space will be of some use once production starts in Europe. 

Model Y production is expected to start in 2021. Tesla may have set a goal for GF4 to produce 500,000 units a year of the Model Y. Whether that estimate is for the first year of production is unclear.

@Tesla construction starts even before approval.!!!!
Tesla has reached an agreement with the Brandenburg government on the purchase contract for the plant in #Grünheide.
Minister of Economics : “We are on schedule. "
👌👍 https://t.co/rGrThywCnm

— #Gf4 #Gigafactory4 (@Gf4Tesla) December 12, 2019

GF4 will also have a battery facility similar to the one in Tesla’s Shanghai factory. Only battery assembly will be happening in Gigafactory 3, and the same was thought to occur in GF4. However, whispers have spread that Tesla might finally start making its own battery cells in Gigafactory 4. The land area for GF4 could fit another building or two for battery cell production if the rumors are true. 

Gigafactory 4 will be instrumental in establishing Tesla’s position in Europe. Its massive size may be a literal metaphor of how important GF4 will be for the all-electric car maker once it is built. 

Tesla is expected to break ground on GF4 before approval. It seems imperative that construction on the plant begins as soon as possible to start Model Y production in 2021.

Featured Image Credit: u/brandude8/Reddit