FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Tesla CEO Elon Musk has given its German team six more months to start production at its delayed factory near Berlin, its first gigafactory in Europe, German weekly Automobilwoche reported, citing company sources.
A Tesla spokeswoman declined to comment on the report, referring to last month’s official statement by the carmaker that put the start of production at the Gruenheide site towards the end of 2021.
Initially, Tesla had planned to start production on July 1, 2021, but red tape and plans to also build a battery cell factory on the site have delayed the project.
Tesla last month slammed lengthy regulatory processes in Europe’s largest economy, saying its approval framework “directly contradicts the urgency to plan and realise such projects that is necessary to battle climate change”.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Alex Richardson)
