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

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.