Elon Musk says that Tesla is aiming to start Model Y production at Gigafactory Berlin in October, which is when the company hopes to get the final government approval.
Tesla has had some issues navigating German bureaucracy in bringing its Gigafactory Berlin project to production.
The automaker planned to start production of the Model Y at the factory in July, but it has experienced delays.
Most recently, Tesla has said that it plans to start production “by the end of the year.”
Today, during a tour of the site with Armin Laschet, Germany’s conservative party candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor, CEO Elon Musk said that the new target is October (via Reuters):
“We’re looking forward to hopefully getting the approval to make the first cars maybe in October if we are fortunate,”
Musk has been complaining that German regulations have caused Tesla issues in getting the factory up and running.
He advised that there should be regular reviews of regulations to evaluate their usefulness instead of accumulating them.
Laschet appears to agree that the country has too many regulations.
He commented during the tour of the factory:
“Sometimes one has the impression that inventing something new is technologically easier than dismantling bureaucracy in Germany.”
Following the visit, Musk also announced that Tesla will hold a county fair at the factory on October 9 around the time that they plan to start production:
The first vehicle that Tesla plans to build at Gigafactory Berlin is the Model Y, and the vehicle is expected to feature an updated body with more megacasting parts and a structural battery pack.
Musk has previously said that the Model Y produced at the new factory will represent a “manufacturing revolution” in the auto industry.
However, Tesla is shipping Model Y vehicles from China in the meantime, with the first deliveries expected next month.
