Electric Cars

Tesla Giga Berlin gets green light to make Model Y, good news for Australia

Published by
Bridie Schmidt

Tesla can officially start pumping out the Model Y electric crossover at its new Giga Berlin EV factory in volume, once it can prove it has met a string of conditions.

Environmental approval for production of its electric crossover was granted on Friday, marking a massive milestone for the EV maker having faced months of delays.

The Berlin gigafactory near Gruenheide will be the carmaker’s second EV factory outside the US, and will focus on making its popular Model Y to supply the European market. It is utilising ground-breaking giant machines that cast whole front and rear body pieces that significantly reduce complexity and costs of production.

Tesla Berlin observer Tobias Lindh shared numerous images on Twitter showing rows and rows of black Model Ys outside the new factory, where Tesla is still laying down asphalt, installing street lights and other finishing touches.

While the company was approved to make 2,000 Performance Model Ys ahead of volume production, the new approval means that the carmaker can start making Long Range Model Ys also, and prepare for first deliveries to customers.

It is expected that the first of these will take place at an official delivery event this month, but first, the EV maker must meet a long list of 400 “conditions and requirements” that involve groundwater protection, air pollution and species protection.

A “procedural error” in a water supplier’s licence must also be remedied, although a German court admitted this could be fixed easily by the water utility, said Reuters.

Once that is done, Giga Berlin will look to ramp up to build 500,000 electric vehicles a year as Tesla takes aim at its main competitor in the EV space in Europe, Volkswagen (which has also just announced a massive 2 billion euro injection into a new EV factory in Wolfsburg, although it will not commence production until 2026.)

For Australia, it is also good news. The opening of the Berlin gigafactory also means that Shanghai-made inventory can be freed up for other markets. However, a local launch of the Model Y may depend on how fast Tesla can ramp up Berlin production.

Recent Posts

Shares plunge as Porsche delays EV rollout, citing “challenging conditions”

Porsche delay rollout of EVs in favour of new internal combustion engine (ICE) models, citing…

23 September 2025

Leaked specs reveal key details of Tesla new no frills, “affordable” EV

Key changes to Tesla's new lower cost, no frills model spotted in Tesla's app software…

23 September 2025

Tesla Model Y completes lap of Australia with 13,500 km of FSD Supervised

Tesla enthusiast and long-distance EV specialist Harald Murphy covers over 13,500 km as he completes…

23 September 2025

Australia’s biggest utility offers BYD Atto 3 and vehicle-to-grid in trial subscription offer

One of Australia's largest energy firms will test whether electric car drivers are willing to…

23 September 2025

Network completes V2G trial to show technology works in remote micro-grids

Horizon Power completes 12-month vehicle-to-grid (V2G) trial in the resort town of Exmouth which shows…

22 September 2025

Evie secures $50m in milestone funding for EV charging networks

Australia’s largest EV fast-charging network has secured a $50 million senior debt facility in what…

22 September 2025