Tesla has once again been ordered to stop work at the Giga Berlin site, but this time it isn’t because of sleeping snakes and lizards.
In case you didn’t know, Tesla actually hasn’t received final approval to build the massive new factory. The construction work that has been completed thus far has been done at Tesla’s own risk. If the final permits end up being rejected, the automaker would have to demolish everything that had been built on its own dime.
That possibility is extremely unlikely to occur as officials have shown strong support for the project. Nonetheless, the State Office for the Environment requires Tesla to provide a €100 million ($156M CAD) deposit, which was supposed to be handed over by December 17, 2020.
According to a report from the local news publication Zeit, Tesla has missed that deadline.
As a result, the automaker has been ordered to stop work at the site, including tree clearing and installation of machines in the paint shop.
The State Office has also extended the deadline for Tesla to provide the deposit to January 4, 2021.
UPDATE: According to local drone operators who regularly fly over the Giga Berlin site, construction appears to be continuing.
But @Gf4Tesla told that work did continue today – maybe it only stopped this morning for a few hours?https://t.co/zBBFScvhE6
— Patrick Seelbach (@PatrickSeelbach) December 18, 2020
