Tesla’s start of production at Gigafactory Berlin is delayed over a technicality
Tesla has hit another roadblock in starting production at Gigafactory Berlin, as a technicality is delaying the approval process by about a month.
At Gigafest last week, Elon Musk said that Tesla was aiming to start production at Gigafactory Berlin in November.
People attending the factory tour during the county fair noted that Tesla appeared to be almost ready to start production, and that the main hurdle was getting the long-awaited regulatory approval.
The regional environmental ministry announced that they are going to repeat the online consultation for local citizens to express objections.
It’s something that was already done last year, but environmental groups successfully argued that the process was done improperly and should be repeated (via Reuters):
Authorities decided to repeat the process after environmental groups disputed in a separate case also moved online that citizens were not warned far enough in advance that the consultation would be digital, prompting concern that the same applied to the Tesla consultation.
Now the online consultation for local citizens to express objections will run again from November 2-22.
The objections would again need to be reviewed following the period, which makes it likely to push the official approval of the project to at least December.
Electrek’s Take
The good news is that while this delays Tesla’s official start of production and deliveries at Gigafactory Berlin, it shouldn’t delay the ramp-up, which is more important.
While the process is being delayed, Tesla can still work on the supply chain and its production processes to prepare for the ramp-up at the factory.
During Tesla’s Q3 earnings call, CFO Zach Kirkhorn even noted that while Tesla aims to start production at the factory this year, we shouldn’t expect any deliveries of those vehicles until next year.
Therefore, it’s not about the impact on deliveries this quarter, but how it will set up for a smooth escalation in 2022.