With bigger wheels, music and an appearance by CEO Elon Musk, Tesla is pulling out all the stops to win over opponents of the electric carmaker’s controversial new “Gigafactory” near Berlin on Saturday. Construction began two years ago under an extraordinary process given by the authorities, but local protests over environmental concerns have stalled final approval for the plant.
Some local residents have planned protests at the site on the day of the incident to highlight their opposition to the factory.
Musk will descend in person at “Giga Fest,” where the company has put on a big wheel, electronic music and vegetarian food trucks – an event conceived in the image of Berlin, Europe’s party capital.
Thousands are expected to attend, given priority to guest list announced by locals Tesla earlier this week.
Devotees of the brand shared their excitement on social media ahead of the day. One tweeted, “Gigafest here we come. Thrilled to see what they’ve made in my hometown.”
Opponents of the project are planning another form of reception. “Let’s take to the streets against this environmental catastrophe pushed by politicians,” is the call by the protest organizers.
environmental concerns
Tesla Construction began on the site in Grünheide in 2019 after receiving preliminary approval under a special process.
But local officials are still in the process of evaluating the factory’s environmental impact while construction has been completed.
The special treatment given to the company has angered some residents, who are concerned about the impact the plant might have on water supplies and biodiversity.
Supported by NGOs, opponents have sent letters, held protests and went to court to try and stop the project.
“Tesla will have to follow the same procedures as other companies,” the Green League campaign group said recently.
Last year, work at the Tesla site was temporarily halted after NGOs requested an injunction to protect the nearby natural habitat of endangered species of lizards and snakes while they were in their winter sleep. .
A residents’ consultation, part of the approval process, is scheduled to close on October 14.
Until the survey is completed, final approval cannot be given and production will not be allowed to start at the factory.
Nevertheless, the state environment ministry in Brandenburg, where the plant is located, told AFP that “no date has been set” for this authorisation.
Despite local resistance, construction was completed in double-quick time, replacing the pine forest with a vast concrete-paved expanse accessed via “Tesla Road”.
economies of scale
Tesla’s first production location in Europe, the factory just outside Berlin, should take about 500,000 cars off the line a year.
On the same 300-hectare plot, Musk also plans to build “the world’s largest battery factory”.
The site will similarly boast “the world’s largest die-casting machine,” said Ferdinand Dudenhofer, director of the Center for Automotive Research in Germany.
Dudenhofer said the custom-built equipment should allow Tesla to “significantly reduce production costs.”
In the event that the factory clearance is not given, the carmaker will be forced to dismantle the entire work at its own expense.
However, such incidents are “unlikely”, Dudenhofer said, as the project has considerable “political backing”.
“Every political party is in favor of it,” explained the car expert, noting that changes to factory masks could be requested by the authorities, further delaying the start of production.
First planned for July 2021, the launch has already been pushed back to the end of this year as a result of the company’s administrative troubles.
Tesla was “irritated” by these failures, as it wrote in an open letter in March, in which the company called for a “reform” of Germany’s planning processes.
Despite the country’s reputation for efficiency, major infrastructure projects are often slowed down by additional bureaucracy.
Berlin’s new international airport opened in October 2020, eight years after the first plan, while the construction of a new railway station in Stuttgart is yet to be completed after it began in 2010.
.