Earlier today we reported that the first production line robots had begun testing at Giga Texas, indicating construction at the new factory was getting closer to completion.
Now it looks like the race is on between Giga Texas and and Giga Berlin to see which factory will have cars roll off the production line first.
New images from inside the factory in Germany reveal a large number of robots and machinery have also been installed.
The photos were uploaded to Google by Bogdan Czyński and according to data associated with them are no more than one week old as they were taken in June 2021.
The red and yellow robots are the same ones seen at Giga Shanghai’s Model Y production line. Tesla included two images of the electric SUV’s production line being installed in China in the company’s Q2 2020 shareholder deck.
Based on these new images from inside Giga Berlin, it wouldn’t be surprising if Tesla has also begun testing these robots like they have in Austin. Given the number of robots that have been installed, it also wouldn’t be a stretch to say Giga Berlin is actually ahead of Giga Texas in the construction timeline.
That would be surprising to many given Tesla’s vocal displeasure with the lengthy bureaucratic process in Germany that still sees it without its final permit.
That approval may come soon. Last week Tesla officially filed changes to its application for Giga Berlin with German officials. The changes included details for Tesla’s on-site battery manufacturing facility and an expansion of production lines.
In a visit to the factory in May, CEO Elon Musk said construction at Giga Berlin was progressing nicely. He added that he hopes they will be able to “start production [by the] end of this year.”
That timeline roughly coincides with the one given for Giga Texas in the Q1 2021 update where it said it is still targeting to start production and have the first deliveries of cars later this year.
Which Gigafactory do you think will finish construction and begin producing cars first? Let us know in the comments below.
