Construction companies involved in Tesla's Gigafactory 4 are reportedly discussing further plans for the forest surrounding the electric car maker's upcoming facility. Preliminary preparations for Gigafactory 4’s construction started at the beginning of the month.
There have been no announcements about when Tesla’s new factory will actually start construction, nor has there been official word about the date for the site's groundbreaking event. However, news of construction companies discussing the next phase for the GF4 forest hints that the groundbreaking ceremony is imminent.
According to Tesla enthusiast @Gf4Tesla, construction companies were discussing the next phase for the GF4 forest while on site today. The topics they talked about included road construction, a tree-felling team, debris removal, and ammunition salvage.
🦲🦲🦲👷♂️Major briefing👷♂️
— #Gf4 #Gigafactory4 (@Gf4Tesla) January 15, 2020
Construction companies met to discuss the next planning phase.
- Road construction
- Tree felling team
- Debris removal
- Ammunition salvage#Gigafactory4 pic.twitter.com/jlunKBdA44
Road-building hasn’t been discussed much in the past, though it is a vital step in preparing the entire Gigafactory 4 complex for further construction activities. There is an access road at the GF4 forest since the ammunition recovery teams and other personnel working on the site need a way in and out of the area. So far, workers in the GF4 forest are continuously fortifying the access road, reported @Gf4Tesla.
Multiple roads will be needed for Gigafactory 4. According to documents referencing GF4's upcoming construction and activities, Tesla estimated that at least 326 trucks carrying materials will be passing through the site while the new plant is being built. Those trucks will need access to multiple roads in and out of the Gigafactory 4 complex for construction to happen smoothly. Discussion of more roads in an out of the GF4 forest could then be a step towards Gigafactory 4 construction.
Before actual work on Tesla’s Europe-based factory starts, the ground-breaking ceremony should take place, as it did with Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. Elon Musk himself flew to China for the event. So it wouldn’t be surprising if he will do the same for Gigafactory 4.
News from the 🌲" Tesla Forest "🌲
— #Gf4 #Gigafactory4 (@Gf4Tesla) January 15, 2020
Every minute trucks with rubble drive into the forest and fortify the access road to @gigafactory4. pic.twitter.com/FRqrh5VQDs
The ground-breaking ceremony will probably take place as soon as preliminary preparations on the GF4 land are finished. For Gigafactory 3, the ground-breaking ceremony took place months after preliminary preparations on its land started. GF3's land didn't start off as a muddy field, but it looked that way during its ground-breaking ceremony because Tesla China cleared the site to prepare for GF3 construction. By the time Elon Musk flew to China for GF3's groundbreaking ceremony, heavy equipment such as pile drivers were already deployed on the site.
The ammunition recovery teams deployed by the local government of Brandenburg started working in the GF4 forest on January 6. They kicked off preliminary preparations for GF4 construction. After the ammunition salvage, tree-felling will likely be the next step. Removing the majority of the trees will clear a path in the forest for work on the actual factory to start.
Once the land is prepared for construction, Elon Musk may fly to Brandenburg for GF4's ground-breaking ceremony. After this, it would be up to Germany to prove that it could build Gigafactory 4 on a pace that is hopefully comparable to that of Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, which started building electric cars en masse within a year of its groundbreaking.
Featured Image Credit: @Gf4Tesla/Twitter
About the Author
Claribelle Deveza
Longtime writer and news/book editor. Writing about Tesla allows me to contribute something good to the world, while doing something I love.
