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Elon Musk opens new Tesla factory in Germany, the company’s first in Europe

Paul Murdoch

Elon Musk officially opened Tesla’s first manufacturing facility, which has been dubbed a “Gigafactory” in Europe on Tuesday as the company aims to take some strain off its other factories in the U.S. and China.

Musk was seen dancing as he presided over the delivery of Tesla’s first German-made cars to 30 clients and their families at the carmaker’s 5-billion-euro ($5.5 billion) plant.

Tesla said more than 3,000 of the factory’s expected 12,000 workers had been hired so far. They confirmed that they expect the factory to produce 500,000 cars per year and will also make batteries at an annual rate of 50 gigawatt hours (GWh), surpassing all other plants Germany.

Musk said: “This is a great day for the factory,” describing it as “another step in the direction of a sustainable future.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the plant was a sign of progress and the future of the car industry.

In November 2019, when Musk announced plans to build a car plant in Germany, he lauded German engineering.

He said: “Everyone knows that German engineering is outstanding, for sure. That’s part of the reason why we are locating our Gigafactory Europe in Germany. We are also going to create an engineering and design center in Berlin, because Berlin has some of the best art in the world.” 

There was some opposition to the plant opening. Several protesters gathered outside the facility on Tuesday to raise their concerns, according to Reuters. They’re worried that the plant will use too much water and they’re unhappy with the number of trees that have been sacrificed to build it.

ARTICLE: PAUL MURDOCH 

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: BLOOMBERG

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Paul Murdoch

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.
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