Just under one year after Giga Berlin officially opened, the factory’s battery plant has started operations. Tesla hasn’t confirmed the start of operations, but Brandenburg’s Minister of Economic Affairs Jörg Steinbach revealed the information while speaking with the state parliament this week.
While the plant was supposed to produce Tesla’s 4680 cells, Steinbach said it is currently production individual battery components, without explaining which ones. This is largely due to the new tax incentives in the US which has led Tesla to prioritize battery production in their home country for the time being.
Despite this however the plant is “buzzing [and] full” according to Steinbach, who recently toured the factory, adding that “what is manufactured there as a preliminary product on the spot fully utilizes this building on the spot.” (via rbb24, translated from German)
Steinbach also provided somewhat of an update on Tesla’s plans to expand Giga Berlin. According to the minister Tesla has not yet submitted a formal application to expand the factory, so the government has no further information on Tesla’s plans are other than what was already revealed during community consultations last year.
Tesla was hoping to submit the applications before the end of 2022, but it appears as though they were not able to meet that deadline. The multi-phased expansion project is expected to see the factory’s output increase from the current 250,000 vehicles per capacity to more than 1.5 million when it is complete.
You can see the Giga Berlin battery plant in the drone flyover below. It appears at about the 16 minute mark of the video.
