If the process for Giga Berlin wasn’t taking long enough, Tesla has been hit with yet another delay in receiving the final approval for the new factory.
From September 14 to October 14 local authorities ran an online consultation process to review the more than 800 objections that were submitted regarding the project.
The consultation will now have to be repeated over concerns that citizens were not given enough notice that the process would be virtual, instead of the typical in-person process.
“Since, in the absence of sample cases, it is difficult to assess which legal opinion the administrative courts in Brandenburg would adopt in the event of a lawsuit, the licensing authority decided to repeat the online consultation in the emissions control procedure for the vehicle factory for reasons of legal certainty,” the regional environmental ministry said on Thursday (via Reuters)
The new process will run from November 2-22, and only be open to those who expressed an objection in previous public consultation rounds but were not satisfied with the response from Tesla or the environmental ministry.
Tesla updates Giga Berlin render, ramps up hiring spree as opening nears
The delay will certainly ruffle some feathers at Tesla. Earlier this year the company sent a 10-page letter to local authorities expressing their concerns with the lengthy bureaucratic process that sees Giga Berlin without final approvals despite the factory being close to opening.
During his visit to Germany last month, Musk said he was still hoping to begin production in October. This latest development means that date will likely be pushed back to at least December.
Even if production begins in December, Tesla said yesterday customer deliveries won’t begin until early 2022.
