The American carmaker Tesla has officially launched its first European plant, built near Berlin, Germany. With an investment of 5.5 billion euros, ie almost 138 billion CZK, it is one of the most expensive car factories in Europe. At the ceremony, Tesla founder Elon Musk presented Model Y “Made in Germany” to the first 30 owners.
The American carmaker Tesla officially opened its first car plant in Europe on Tuesday. Of course, the founder of the car company Elon Musk could not miss the ceremony. He personally handed over a car to the first 30 owners of the Model Y, which can boast a “Made in Germany” tag. This is a Model Y Performance, which can be purchased in the Czech online configurator from CZK 1,874,490. Musk signed the owners’ center tunnel inside the car.
So far, the Y models have been transported to the European market from China as the construction of the factory has dragged on. Musk originally wanted to open it last summer, then the deadline was postponed in the fall, even later until the end of the year. In the end, the race did not receive final permission until the beginning of March this year.
Federal Minister of Economy Robert Habeck (Greens) arrived at noon around noon. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also arrived at the official ceremony in the afternoon.
A group of environmental activists has been gathering around the plant since the morning, protesting against the factory for a long time. In the afternoon, activists blocked the driveway and police officers had to intervene against them.
🇬🇧🇩🇪 Thank you Germany!! 🇬🇧🇩🇪
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 22, 2022
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The invitation to the ceremonial opening of the plant was not public. According to photos released by Reuters, people enthusiastically took pictures with Elon Musk and inspected the cars in the factory. In the afternoon, Elon Musk wrote a simple message on his Twitter: “Thank you, Germany!”
The Berlin plant and its plans
The company invested 5.5 billion euros in the construction in Grünheide near Berlin, ie almost 138 billion crowns. The carmaker plans to produce its latest novelty here, the Model Y. It is to become the best-selling Tesla, a crossover with Model 3 technology with a range of up to 505 kilometers and a price of just over 1.7 million. In addition, the Model 3 will be assembled at Gigafactory near Berlin to produce batteries, cells and power units for electric vehicles.
The company plans to produce up to half a million cars a year in its European factory and employ 12,000 people. Tesla said on Tuesday that it had employed 3,000 people so far. The company did not say how many cars it will be able to assemble this year, but the car magazine Automotive News Europe states that according to the analytical company JP Morgan, 54,000 cars should be produced in Germany this year, the figure is expected to increase to 280,000 in 2023 and by 2025 the factory should fully utilize the production capacity of half a million cars per year.
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