Despite the crisis associated with Covid-19, Tesla wants to advance its plans to establish the first factory in Europe. According to the government of Brandenburg, the company filed a third application for early approval of measures to prepare for construction.

The first Tesla's European Gigafactory is planned to be launched into production according to the plan. According to company CEO Elon Musk, the start of production is scheduled for 2021.

“Tesla made it clear thatite wants to continue the project,” Brandenburg Minister of Economics Jörg Steinbach (SPD) told the mayor’s economic committee in early May. “There is a clear statement that cars will still roll off the assembly line in 2021.”

The consultation and approval process delayed the start of the construction of the Tesla Brandenburg plant. For example, the public comment date had to be postponed, and Tesla improved the application for approval. But in the project itself, “there are no delays associated with the coronavirus,” Steinbach emphasized.

Tesla does not intend to slow down the construction of its new plant in Germany. On the contrary, Steinbach emphasized, “there is a clear signal from Tesla about how to promote the project with maximum consistency.” According to politics, Tesla seeks a wider and more independent supply chain.

According to the government of Brandenburg, the company filed a third application for early approval of measures to prepare for construction. “This will essentially involve the flat foundations of certain buildings and the laying of supply lines above the water table,” said Axel Steffen, head of the environment department at the ministry of the environment, on Monday at a conference of the transport committee of the Brandenburg State Parliament.

This means that the automaker may soon begin construction work. Giga Shanghai struck the whole world with the speed with which the plant was built and put into operation. The construction speed of Giga Berlin was very doubtful, as everyone knows about the bureaucratic apparatus of Germany. However, the facts suggest otherwise. Enthusiast Tobias Lindh made a comparison of the progress of the Giga Berlin and Giga Shanghai project, which shows that at one point the European Tesla factory is building faster than the Chinese one.

Source: Tobias Lindh/Twitter

In Giga Berlin, up to 500,000 electric vehicles will be produced for the European market each year. Initially, the production will be launched mid-size SUV Model Y. According to Steinbach, the first phase involves an investment of more than 4 billion euros and 12,000 jobs. But this is only the beginning. “Tesla is planning a second and third stage of expansion,” the politician said. According to company information, the Model 3 and battery cells will later also be produced in Brandenburg.

Featured image: @gigafactory_4/Twitter