Tesla has finally started car production on its Gigafactory Berlin in Germany. The first Model Y SUVs have already been handed over to their respective buyers.
The EV maker invested around five billion euros into the industrial complex, marking the highest investment made in the automotive industry of Germany throughout its modern history.
The facility is designed to churn out up to 500,000 EVs per year. If we were to sum up the capacities of all batteries of these cars, the resulting power storage would amount to 50 gigawatt-hours. This is more than any German battery manufacturing plant has ever produced.
Volkswagen Group, the main rival of Tesla, is currently unable to make more than 450,000 vehicles annually, but plans to open a dedicated zero-emission vehicle factory in four years’ time. The investment in the project is estimated at €2 billion. Furthermore, VW will be launching its own battery production line next year.
The Gigafactory is designed to employ up to 12,000 people, but currently only employs around 3,000. This year’s plan is for 54,000 EVs, but 2023 should see the number multiplied by five, and by 2025, Tesla expects to max out at 500,000 cars per year.
Pre-orders will be open again soon, but expect all production slots to be backordered until at least the next month.