Tesla will deliver the first Berlin-made Model Y electric crossovers to customers at an official delivery event on March 22, 2022, it has been confirmed.
Confirmation of the event – after Tesla finally received approval to begin production of the Model Y at its Grünheide gigafactory on Friday (after a string of conditions were met) – came in an invitation sent to Berlin employees that was shared on Twitter by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt.
The news comes after it became known on Monday that the first customers to order the Berlin-made Model Y Performance were asked to provide final personal details in readiness for handover, as reported by Teslamag.de.
Although it will take some time to ramp up production at Tesla’s Berlin EV factory, the official delivery date marks a significant day for Tesla and the EV transition at large.
One in five cars sold in Europe are now plug-in electric vehicles, and one in ten is battery-electric. In Germany in February Tesla claimed #1 EV model sold while the Model Y sat at #3.
But Tesla’s Shanghai factory has been supplying cars to Europe while the EV maker crosses the Ts and dots the Is to get its Berlin factory approved according to the conditions set by German authorities.
With a capacity of 500,000 EVs a year planned for Berlin, its opening will mean Shanghai inventory can be freed up for other markets, bringin a local launch of the Model Y one step closer.
