Musk’s message of hope as Tesla gears up to make EVs near Berlin

Tesla will likely begin making Model Ys in Germany in October, Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk told reporters outside the soon to be open Gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, on Saturday (Australian time).

“We’re looking forward to making the most advanced electric cars in the world, as well as battery packs for home and utility use and just generally help accelerate the green revolution,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to hopefully getting approval to make the first cars, maybe in October.”

In a video shared on Twitter, a jovial Musk stood with Armin Laschet, prime minister of Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region and added he hopes the new electric car and battery factory will deliver a message of inspiration to Europe.

The message comes a week after the International Panel on Climate Change report that states global warming is undisputedly caused by human activity and has already risen by 1.09°C from pre-industrial levels (1.4°C in Australia) and that ambitious action must be taken in order to avoid runaway temperature rises, and extreme weather events.

With a news search for “climate anxiety” yielding more than 3 million results, it would seem that Musk is seeking to remind people that with work being done to increase sustainable energy and transport options it is important to maintain a positive outlook.

“Hopefully … Giga Berlin can serve as an inspiration for people in Germany and throughout Europe for excitement about the future,” he said.

“We’ve got to be excited about the future! We’ve got to do things that make us want to live! it can’t just be about problems every day.”

“What inspires you and makes you excited about the future?”

Musk met Laschet at the factory as part of discussions about approval procedures for the new factory, at which Tesla will begin making the Model Y for the first time with both front and rear cast body pieces.

German media reports that Musk is calling for a change to class action rights because lawsuits filed by non- North Rhine-Westphalia residents are holding up the factory’s progress.

According to Waz, Laschet said that current regulations were created in the time before the Paris climate agreement, “but if the situation is as serious as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says, then we have to accelerate.”

While the two appeared to be in agreement, Laschet also drew more laughter from Musk asking if the EV entrepreneur thought the future of the car was in electricity or hydrogen.

Musk, whose views on using hydrogen – which is energy-intensive to make – for transport is well known, said laughing, “Electric, of course. Hydrogen is a waste of time.”

Laschet later retweeted that he was referring to the use of hydrogen for trucks and the heavy-duty sector.

The visit coincided with the arrival of several Tesla Model Ys in Europe, as reported by Tesla ship trackers, which was met with great amusement when the vehicles were spotted in “camouflage”.

Arriving for local testing ahead of production in Europe, rather than clothed in full camouflage as is done with other carmakers, Tesla instead chose to plaster the vehicles with graffiti-style decals that say “Not Model Y”.

“That’s why I love this brand so much. I love the absurd!” said one Tweep who reposted an image of the vehicles.

In early August three Tesla Model Ys also arrived in Australia, presumably also for local testing and certification ahead of a local launch. There have been no sightings of a similar “camouflage” that we are aware of – please contact us if you see any!