Tesla opens a Gigafactory in Germany to win back Europe’s EV market
![The Technoking and Germany’s chancellor christen Tesla’s first European factory [Patrick Pleul/Getty Images]](https://cdn.robinhood.com/static_content/mwphzyq69oso/en-US/assets/files/6MNtPsVZbaqkR5ZdsftkSl_1_GettyImages-1239416453.jpg)
Schnitzel in the Model S... crispy luxury. Tesla just cut the ribbon at its new Gigafactory outside Berlin. Elon Musk and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attended the opening of Tesla's first European plant — Elon danced, Olaf didn't,. Tesla snagged approval to produce up to 500K cars/year at Giga Berlin, but ramping up production will take time. It’s hoping for 30K cars by June.
Fake German heiress... real Model X. By expanding manufacturing, Tesla delivered almost 1M cars last year — nearly double 2020 deliveries. Giga Berlin will play a key role as Tesla's European production hub (currently it ships cars to Europe from its China plant, and pays hefty import duties for the privilege). Tesla’s footprint:
- Fremont, CA: Tesla's OG factory is the most productive car plant in the US (8.5K cars/week). The bulk of Teslas come from here.
- Reno, NV, and Buffalo, NY: These Giga plants produce electric motors, batteries, and solar-energy-storage products instead of EVs.
- Shanghai: The second Giga after Fremont to actually assemble Teslas. Since starting production in 2019, it’s nearly doubled in size.
- Next up: Giga Texas is under construction in Austin, TX, and will become Tesla’s new HQ (#TaxReasons). It’ll also crank out Cybertrucks… if they ever materialize.
A global footprint is fuel… for global EV domination. Last year 85% of the world’s EVs were sold to customers in Europe and China. With oil prices gone haywire, EV demand could soar. Thanks to its continent-spanning factories, Tesla can produce at a much higher volume than other EV-first companies. But it’s losing ground in Europe to OGs like Volkswagen, which has eclipsed Tesla in EV sales there. The Berlin Gigafactory should help Tesla compete on VW’s home turf.