The event called Giga Fest was supposed to allow people to look into the Tesla factory, go through all parts of the production, but above all to see and hear Musek himself on stage. “Starting production is quite easy. The most difficult thing will be to achieve volume production, “added the head of Tesla to start production. The technology website informed about it TechCrunch.
Due to the pandemic, the organizers limited the capacity of the event to 9,000 people. Tesla handed out the tickets for free, but preferred to invite locals. “Each visitor received three free vouchers, which they could exchange for a drink, food or a ride with a Model Y,” said Lukáš Hataš, director of the Association for Electromobility, who took part in the event.
Giga Fest was associated with a music festival. In the evening, techno music played at the event, accompanied by colored lights. Next door, visitors could ride a ferris wheel, carousels or taste a variety of dishes from vegetarian “food trucks”.
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Although the event was organized in a grand style, it took place in a locality where there are lawsuits over the destruction of the environment. Locals have filed more than eight hundred complaints, which are being addressed through an online consultation process. According to the Bloomberg news website, it is to end on October 14. Only then will the environmental authorities make the final decision to start production.
Despite complaints, Tesla has a 95 percent chance of obtaining approval, according to the Brandenburg Minister of Agriculture. The Berlin gigafactory currently employs thousands of people from all over Europe, most of whom come from Poland. Musk defended the factory against critics by saying that it consumes relatively little water and that battery production will be “sustainable.”
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Musk also announced specific production numbers. According to him, the “Giga Berlin” could produce up to 520,000 vehicles a year if it manages to produce ten thousand Y models a week. He estimated that the factory could enter the full production phase in a year at the earliest, similar to the gigafactory in Shanghai.
Construction of the factory began last year and should be completed in 2022. Tesla should pay 41 million euros, about one billion crowns, for an area of 300 hectares. The factory itself is to be as big as 420 football fields, the German press said, which estimates the total investment in the plant at four billion euros. The carmaker plans to produce half a million cars a year in a German factory and employ the aforementioned 12,000 people.