Tesla has received approval to expand Giga Berlin during a city council vote. This means the company will be able to begin expansion under a revised plan put forward in response to local concerns.
The recent vote in Grünheide cleared the way for the expansion of Tesla’s electric vehicle factory in Germany. The municipal council voted by a majority in favor of the amended development plan for the site previously submitted by the company. Eleven members of the public voted in favor, six voted against, and two abstained. The vote was carried out under police protection.
Giga Berlin’s original expansion plan was met with public pushback. In response to this, Tesla introduced a new one. The company will clear less forest than originally planned. Tesla wants to expand its premises to include a freight station and logistics facilities. This will lead to a significant reduction in emissions from freight transport, which currently supplies to and from Giga Berlin. In addition, it will reduce the load on the roads around the factory, reducing the number of cars on them. Despite this, activists protested against these plans.
Activists, under the guise of protecting the environment, are protesting against Tesla’s expansion. It is noteworthy that only Tesla, which produces electric cars, is susceptible to such a strong attack in Germany. At the same time, such giants in the production of cars with internal combustion engines as Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, and others are producing without hindrance.
It is also worth noting that the result of the Grünheide residents’ vote on Tesla’s expansion plans was not binding. However, the company and the municipality wanted to develop together with the locals. Immediately after the announcement of the results of the vote, which was not in favor of Tesla, the company made changes to its development plan. It was revised. Instead of clearing more than 100 hectares of pine trees, only about 50 hectares now have to be cut down.
Voluntary Community Council Chairman Pamela Eichmann supported Tesla’s expansion plans. On Thursday she said on Deutschlandfunk: “The planned freight station will free citizens from 1,900 truck trips per day.” She and her colleagues on the local council decided on the development Giga Berlin plan independently of Tesla. The company did not apply any pressure.
Brandenburg Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach was pleased with this decision. “Development Plan 60 promotes community development, particularly modern and sustainable infrastructure. At the same time, it takes into account the interests of landscape conservation and the vote of the residents,” he told SPIEGEL. He praised the decision of the public representatives as part of direct democracy: “Local residents solve their own problems,” Steinbach continued.
